«MHh 



g a M M a « MM P B a iB Wgi*g w 




Book . S s. . 

CopghtN" 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 





v-m 











fiWx 






m-M--^ 













INSECTS INJURIOUS TO 
STAPLE CROPS. 



/ 



BY 



E. DWIGHT SANDERSON, B S.Agr, 
u 

ENTOMOLOGIST, DELAWARE COLLEGE AGRICULTURAL 

EXPERIMENT STATION; 

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY, 

DELAWARE COLLEGE. 



FIRST 


EDITIOR. 


FIRST 


THOUSAND. 


> J ) } > > i 


I M^' \^ >''' 'j' '' 


Ur ^.^ 





NEW YOEK : 

JOHN WILEY & SONS. 

London- CHAPMAN & HALL. Limited. 

1902. 



THE LIBRARY OF 

0ONG??ESS. 
Two COfMES Received 

JAN. 14 1902 

COPYSIQMT ENTRV 

CLASS ««^XXo. NO. 
COPY 8. 



Copyrigrht, 1902, 

BY 

E. D. SAiNDERSON, 



• • • ••• ccc 
t ••• c»» .*» I c 

* t»*tC 'c* 






ROBERT DRUMMON'D, PRINTER, NEW YORK. 



PREFACE. 



The sources of information concerning the insects 
affecting our staple crops are widely scattered throughout 
tlie bulletins of the State Agricultural Experiment Stations 
and of the United States Department of Agriculture, a few 
books on Economic Entomology, and various other publica- 
tions. Few men but the entomologist have the desire or 
ability to glean an account of any given insect from the 
first-mentioned publications, if they know of the existence 
of others than those published by their own State station. 
The few books which have been written upon American 
Economic Entomology usually give but a brief and sum- 
mary account of any given insect, too brief — it seems to 
the writer — to give a very clear understanding of the 
matter. 

In preparing the following pages the author has been 
more and more impressed by the fact that for the control 
of most of the worst insect 2:)ests of our staple crops, the 
farmer must depend very largely upon general methods of 
farm practice. This being tlie case, it is essential that he 
have a correct knowledge of the pest to be combated ; such 
a knowledge of its life-history as will nuike plain the reason 
for the effect of any given procedure against it. Thus the 
better class of farmers may find a work in which each 



Yl PREFACE. 

insect is treated somewhat comjireliensively as to life- 
history, habits, and remedies, yet without being exhaustive 
or technical, to be of considerable service to them. To 
furnish such a guide to the more intelligent class of prac- 
tical farmers has been the aim of the writer, who trusts 
that the following pages will be read as such and not as in 
any way a contribution to science. 

The author wishes most uiu'eservedly to disclaim any 
originality for the contents of the work, and to state that 
unless otherwise noted all the facts are merely comjoilcd 
from the writings of others. Free use has been made of 
the writings of all the most prominent American ento- 
mologists. Where the treatment of a group of insects has 
been largely drawn from one or two sources, they will often 
be indicated by quotations in tlie text. 

Many of the following chapters or parts of them have 
previously appeared in various agricultural journals during 
the past three or four years, to the editors of which the 
author desires to express his thanks for their courtesy in 
allowing him to here republish them; namely. The Country 
Gentleman, The Farmers' Review, Farm and Fireside, 
Farm News, The National Eural, Texas Farm and Ranch, 
The American Agriculturist, The National Stockman and 
Farmer, and The Practical Farmer. 

The author is particularly indebted to Prof. M. V. 
Slingerland, of Cornell University, for kindly reading 
portions of the manuscript and for several suggestions of 
value; to Dr. L. 0. Howard for assistance in part of Chap- 
ter X; and to his wife, Anna Cecilia Sanderson, for a large 
amount of clerical assistance. 

E. DwiuHT Sandkhson". 

Newark, Dkl., February, 1901. 



SOURCES OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Electrotypes of the following figures were purchased, 
being secured through the kindness of the parties named : 
Fig. 9, from Houghton, Mifflin & Co. ; Fig. 102, from the 
Iowa Ag. Exp. Sta., through Prof. H. E. Summers; Figs. 
7, 136, and 137, from Dr. J. B. Smith; Figs. 51, 52, 60, 
84, and 85, from Cornell Univ. Ag. Exp. Sta., through 
Prof. M. V. Slingerland; Figs. 25 and 28, from The 
Farmers' Eeview, Chicago; Figs. 74, 75, 76, 77, and 78, 
from Dr. S. A. Forbes; Figs. 71 and 72, from The 
Country Gentleman, for which they were originally 
redrawn by the author; Fig. 53, from the Xebr. Agr. Exp. 
Sta., through Prof. L. Bruner; and Figs. 11, 24, 31, 50, 
59, 61, 62, 64, 66, 67, 68, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 88, 89, 90, 
91, 92, 93, 94, 97, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 111, 112, 
113, 114, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 
126, 127, 128, 129, 131, 134, 135, 136, 143, 146, 154, 
155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, from the United 
States Department of Agriculture, through the kindness 
of Dr. L. 0. Howard and Mr. F. H. Chittenden, of the 
Division of Entomology and the Division of Publications, 
to which gentlemen we are under especial obligation. 

The following figures were kindly loanerl by the parties 
named: Figs. 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 

vii 



Vlll SOURCES OF ILLUSTRATIONS, 

41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 110, and 150, from the Md. 
Agr. Exp. Sta., through Prof. A. L. Quaiiitance, these 
having been first used by the author iu The Farmers' 
Eeview; Figs. 65, 132, and 133, from the Ky. Agr. Exp. 
Sta., through Prof. H. Garman; Fig. 125, from the Fhi. 
Agr. Exp. Sta., through Prof. H. A. Gossard; Figs. 54, 
55, 56, 57, 58, 63, 70, 96, 98, 101, and 103, from the 
Ohio Agr. Exp. Sta., through Prof. F. M. Webster; Fig. 
49, from the Minn. Agr. Exp. Sta., through Director 
W. M. Liggett; Figs. 12 and 95, from the Del. Coll. Agr. 
Exp. Sta.; Fig. 151, from the Peninsula Horticultural 
Society, through Prof. Wesley Webb. 

Figs. 19, 20, 21, 66, 138, 139, 140, 141, 144, and 147 
were loaned by the author. Figs. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 
23, 26, 27, 99, 115, 145, 149, 152, and 153 were copied 
from prints. Figs. 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10, and Figs. 2, 3, 
22, 86, 87, and 100 and frontispiece are original from 
photos by the author, the photos of the latter numbers 
being loaned by the Del. Coll. Agr. Exp. Sta. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Preface v 

Sources op Illustrations vii 

CHAPTER I. 
Injury done Staple Crops by Insect Pests 1 

CHAPTER II. 
Structure and Development of Insects » « 6 

CHAPTER III. 
General Farm Practice against Injurious Insects 20 

CHAPTER IV. 
Beneficial Insects 30 

CHAPTER V. 
Insects Injurious to Grains and Grasses 44 

CHAPTER VI. 
Insects Injurious to Wheat 90 

CHAPTER VII. 
Insects Injurious to Indian Corn 125 

CHAPTER VIII. 

" Weevil " in Grain ....,, 155 

ix 



X TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IX. 

PAGE 

Insects Injurious to Clover 172 

CHAPTER X. 

Insects Injurious to Cotton 188 

CHAPTER XL 
Insects Injurious to Tobacco 214 

CHAPTER XII. 
Insects Injurious to the Potato 239 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Insects Injurious to the Sugar-beet 252 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Insects Injurious to the Hop-plant 269 

CHAPTER XV. 
Insecticides 284 



INSECTS INJUKIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



CHAPTER I. 

INJURY DONE STAPLE CROPS BY INSECT PESTS. 

Ever since the plague of locusts in the time of the 
Pharaohs, insects have maintained a continual opposition 
to agriculture. History is replete with accounts of insect 
scourges and the enormous losses occasioned by them. 
And instead of diminishing with the advancement in agri- 
cultural methods, injurious insects have undoubtedly be- 
come both more numerous and more destructive in modern 
times. Every now and then we hear of communities 
assembling for prayer and fasting to appease the Almighty, 
whose wrath has hurled a new insect plague against them. 
But a little reflection will show that tlieee scourges are 
entirely due to natural causes. In fact such injuries are 
very largely due to man himself, who, in trying to subdue 
Nature by the clearing and cultivation of the land, has 
deprived the insects of their natural food. Thus they must 
needs feed upon that which is substituted by him, and as 
it is less abundant than the former wild vegetation, the 
number of insects and the injuries they inflict are more 



Z INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CKOPS. 

apparent. But the native insects are by no means entirely- 
responsible for this condition. Foreign insects are con- 
stantly being imported in one way or another, sometimes 
already being established pests in other lands and some- 
times only becoming so under their new surroundings. 
These are even more injurious than those native, for 
whereas many of our native birds, insects, and diseases 
constantly prey upon native insects and thus keep their 
numbers in check, the enemies of imported pests rarely 
accompany them, and they thus increase at an alarming 
rate and do enormous damage before they are attacked by 
the natural enemies of similar native pests. 

American farmers have learned from sad experience 
of the severe losses occasioned by insects, but few realize 
their enormity when considered as a whole. Several cal- 
culations of these losses have been made by competent 
authorities, who practically agree that one-tenth of the 
total agricultural product of the United States, or 1300,- 
000,000, is but a conservative estimate of the loss annually 
sustained by this country. But when this statement has 
occasionally been made by the author it has been met with 
a look of incredulity which very plainly indicated that he 
was thought to have a very elastic imagination. A careful 
collection of such data as may be confided in as accurate 
shows that the above estimate is entirely correct. Con- 
siderably over one-half of this loss is upon the staple crops, 
the remainder being uj)on truck crops, fruits, domestic 
animals, and timber. 

Growing Cereals. — Probably no other insect does so 
wide-spread damage as the Hessian Fly, attacking our chief 
staple, wheat, as well as rye and" barley. One-tenth of 
the whole crop, valued at 'ii>40,000,000, is generally con- 



INJURY DONE STAPLE CROPS BY IKSFCT PESTS. 3 

ceded to be destroyed by this pest every year, and in 
certain sections the loss often amounts to from 30 to 50 
per cent. If the loss to rye and barley be put at one- 
fourth the loss of wheat, it amounts to about $1,000,000. 
From various estimates made at different times during 
that period. Prof. F. M. Webster states that 1330,000,000 
represents the loss from the depredations of the Chinch- 
bug since 1850, or 17,000,000 per annum, whicli has been 
largely confined to the States of the Mississip^^i Valley. 
Corn has a host of insect enemies. Frequently the Corn 
Eoot-worm has damaged the crop to the extent of 10 to 
20 per cent in many of the largest corn-growing States. 
The annual loss on this cro23 due to insects is certainly 
not under 5 per cent, or 137,000,000. Thus with only 
the above figures we see an annual loss of $85,000,000 
u23on growing cereals. 

Stored Grain. — But stored grain has its insect pests also, 
which are especially injurious in the South. Mr. F. H. 
Chittenden, of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, places 
the loss on stored corn in the seven Grulf States at 
$20,000,000, or 20 per cent of their crop. If only one- 
fourth of this amount, or 5 per cent, of the rest of the 
country's stored corn were thus lost, it would amount to 
$40,000,000. Twenty million dollars, or 3 per cent of the 
value of all other stored grain, certainly no more than 
cover the loss sustained upon it and other stored products 
subject to insect pests, which gives an aj^proximate total 
of $60,000,000 damage to stored products. 

Grass and Hay. — A host of grass and clover insects 
damage the hay crop. Half a million dollars have fre- 
quently been given as the loss sustained from the Army- 
worm alone in individual States. Five per cent of the 



4 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

hay crop, or -^20. 000, 000, fairly represents the loss upon 
this cro]) and pasture-lands due to insects. 

Cotton. — The cotton-plant has a number of serious 
enemies, of which the Cotton-worm, Boll-worm, and Boll- 
weevil are the worst. In 1880 the United States Ento- 
mological Commission valued the annual ravages of the 
Cotton-worm at 130,000,000, but, thanks to their careful 
study of the pest, the damage done by it has been greatly 
lessened in recent years. But the Boll-weevil has now 
presented itself in Texas. In 1894 it damaged the Texas 
crop to the extent of '$8, 000, 000, and its injuries are not 
reported as having diminished, Thus $15,000,000 must 
be a low estimate for the insect de^^tredations upon cotton. 

Tobacco. — The tobacco crop, valued at $25,000,000, has 
a horde of insect enemies at all stages of its existence, 
which will easily consume 8 per cent of it, or $2,000,000. 

Potatoes. — The Colorado Potato-beetle does not do that 
crop so serious an injury as formerly, but some new 
enemies to it have ap^^eared, and a loss of $10,000,000, 
or about 6 per cent of the value of that crop, is un- 
doubtedly caused by our six-legged foes. 

Surely, when we include the injury done to fruits, truck 
crops, domestic animals, and timber, $300,000,000 is a 
conservative estimate of the price these aj^parently insig- 
nificant little insects are annually costing this country. 

Yet there is another aspect to the matter. '' One man's 
loss is another man's gain '' is never more true than as 
regards these losses occasioned by insects. For, through 
wide-spread injury by them, prices rise; while if these 
injuries were not done and correspondingly large crops 
were placed upon the market, prices must surely fall. 



INJURY DONE STAPLE CJIOPS BY INSECT PESTS. 5 

These estimates of losses due to insects are then very 
largely comparative. Yet, to a large extent, they are still 
real losses, the same as are those occasioned by fire and 
storm. For though a small crop may bring better prices, 
it is usually at the expense of individuals or communities 
which have sustained exceptionally heavy losses. Were 
these losses evenly distributed among all those producing 
a given crop, there would be no real hardship to them; 
but such is by no means the case. 

All this, then, goes to emphasize the fact that the suc- 
cessful farmer — as the successful man in any other trade 
or profession — is the one Avho is able to overcome obstacles 
which, though possibly ruining his neighbor, are making 
a good market for his special crop. And these insect 
pests can be largely overcome. The millennium will doubt- 
less come before the farmer will be able to stop fighting 
them, but a large part of the damage by them can be pre- 
vented at a cost which renders it profitable. Rational 
methods of general farm practice with the proper use of 
apparatus and insecticides, even such as are now known, 
and in which improvements are being constantly made, if 
intelligently used by American farmers, would save to 
them fully two-thirds of this enormous loss. 



CHAPTER II. 
STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF INSECTS. 

The more experience the farmer has with insect pests, 
the more he comes to realize that if he would successfully 
combat them, he must have a certain amount of necessary- 
knowledge concerning their structure and growth. 

In general, the artificial means which may be effectually 
used to combat an insect pest will very largely depend 
upon the anatomical structure of the insect, while control 
by general methods of culture will depend upon a knowl- 
edge of the peculiarities of its life-history. 

The value of a proper understanding of these important 
factors in insect control is therefore apparent. 

General Structure of an Insect. 

The body of an insect is composed of three separate 
parts, the head, thorax, and abdomen (Pig. 1), each of 
which is composed of several rings or segments. To the 
head are attached the jointed antennae, or feelers, the 
compound eyes, and the mouth-parts, which are described 
below. Each of the three segments of the thorax bears a 
pair of legs, and adult insects usually possess one or two 
pairs of wings upon the last two segments of the thorax. 
The abdomen is composed of nine or ten segments, but 

6 



STRUCTUKE AND DEVELOPMENT OF INSECTS. 7 

bears no appendages save the ovipositor of the females of 
certain orders. 

Harvest-mites, or ^^daddy-long-legs/' sow-bugs, thou- 
sand-legged worms, and similar vermin are often popularly 
called insects, but all of them can readily be distinguished 
from true insects by their possessing more than six legs, 




Fig. 1. — Honey-bee, showing three principal regions of the body 
of an insect : — 1i, head; th., thorax; ahd., abdomen. (Original.) 

the harvest-mites and spiders having eight and the others 
many more. 



How Insects Grow. 

With rare exceptions insects hatch from eggs laid by 
the adult females. Upon hatching they are but little 
larger than the eggs, and often bear but little resemblance 
to their parents. Thus the young caterpillar would never 
be recognized as the immature stage of the butterfly by 
one unfamiliar with its transformations. Grasshoppers 
and some other insects, however, upon hatching from the 
Qgg bear a marked resemblance to the adult form, except 
that they lack wings. 



8 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

Complete Met amor pilosis. — But let us return to the cater- 
pillar and follow it through its short but interesting life. 
Upon hatching from the egg it at once commences to feed 
and grows very rapidly. But before long an obstacle to 
further growth arises. Unlike higher animals, insects 
possess no internal skeleton or framework for the organs 
of the body, but the outer skin becomes hardened and to 
it the muscles and ligaments are attached. This harden- 
ing of the skin is best seen in the horuy wing-covers of the 
beetles and is due to the secretion of a hard substance 
called chitin. This chitin is secreted by all parts of the 
skin in greater or less degree, and thus forms a sort of 
shell for the whole body. Though this hardening is not 
so apparent in larvae as in adult insects, it is always 
present, and it is for this reason that when the young- 
caterpillar has made a certain growth it is forced to shed 
its skin, which refuses to expand further, in order to 
develop more fully. Thus the skins of insects are shed 
several times (see Fig. 2, h), — usually five or six, but 
sometimes as many as twenty, — this process being known 
as ^^ molting." During its life as a caterpillar, which is 
called the "larval stage," and during which it is called a 
"larva," it is an elongate, worm-like creature, with six 
short, jointed legs on the three thoracic segments, a pair 
of fleshy false legs or jiro-legs on the last abdominal seg- 
ment, and probably several pairs of pro-legs between these 
and the true legs. No traces of wings can be seen, but the 
body is often covered vvith hairs, spines, or warty tubercles. 

But with the next molt the insect changes in appearance 
most radically, becoming a pupa, or chrysalis as this stage 
is termed for butterflies. Duriug the pupal stage the 
insect remains dormant either in a small cell slightly under 



STRUCTURE AND DIOVELOTMENT OF INSECTS. D 

the surface of the earth, or in a silken cocoon spun by the 
caterpiHar, or merely attached to the food-plant by a 




Fig. 2. — Complete Metamorphosis. The different stages of the 
Corn Ear-worm {Heliotliis armiger Hiibn.X a, eggs on corn- 
silk; h, the first three larval stages; c, pupa from below; d, same 
from above; e, adult moth — all enlarged; 5, about twice natu- 
ral size. (Original.) 

strand of silk or the cast larval skin. In many of the 
Diptera, — the order including flies, mosquitoe's, gnats, etc., 
— however, the last larval skin is not shed, but hardens 
and forms a case — called a puparium — within which the 
pupal stage is passed. 



10 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

The typical pupa (Fig. 2, c, d) of a butterfly or moth is 
of a more or less oval shape, rather resembling the adult 
insect than the larva, with the wings and antennae tightly 
folded at the sides, the legs drawn up snugly together under 
them, and the head and mouth-parts bent upon the breast, 
or sternum. But all of these parts are not always recog- 
nizable, the legs and mouth-parts being sometimes lacking. 
Gradually the adult insect develops, and at last the pupal 
skin is broken open and the airy butterfly emerges to enjoy 
a short life and perpetuate the species. Such a series of 
transformations is that commonly found among butter- 
flies and moths (Lepidoptera), beetles (Coleoptera), flies 
(Diptera), and bees (Ilymenoptera), and is known as a 
complete metamorpliosis. All of these insects normally pass 
through four stages, the Qgg, larva, pupa, and aduit. 

Incomplete MettDnorpliosis. — In contrast to this mode of 
development is that of the grasshoppers (Orthoptera), bugs 
(Hemiptera), and some other insects. As already stated 
these are much like the adult upon emerging from the 
Q-gg. With each molt they become larger and small wing- 
like pads gradually appear on the sides of the thorax. 
There is no dormant or pupal stage, the adult insect 
differing from the previous stages in having fully developed 
wings, being larger, and often by an accompanying change 
of markings. The immature stages of such insects are 
called nympJiSy and this development an incomplete meta- 
vwrpJwsis, having but three stages, the egg, nymph, and 
adult (Fig. 3). 

The time occupied by the complete life-cycle of an insect 
varies from a week or ten daj^s for the plant-lice to thirteen 
or seventeen years for some Cicadas, and is entirely 
dependent upon the habit of the species and the climate. 



STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF INSECTS. 



11 



A correct knowledge of the exact time and conditions 
under which the transformations occur for each individual 




Fig. 3. — Incomplete Metamorphosis of a Bug (Brachymena Ji-'puatu- 
laia). a, eggs; h, adult bug; c, different stages of young bugs 
or nymphs. (Original.) 

insect pest is therefore often most essential when seeking- 
means for its control. 



How Insects Feed. 

The material to be used in cumhating a given insect is 
almost entirely dependent upon the structure of its mouth- 



12 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



parts. Much Paris green is wasted upon insects unable 
to eat it and which it will, therefore, never kill. 

Insects may be rouglily divided into two classes, those 
which bite and those which suck their food. Among the 
former are the beetles, grasshoppers, the larva? of butter- 
flies and moths, and the larva? of saw-flies; and among tl:e 




Fig. 4. — Front- view Face of Grasshopper {Schiztocerca americana). 
ant., an'^enna; oc, ocellus; ey., eye; cL, clypeus; Ibr., labrum, or 
upper lip; mx.p., maxillary palpus; lab. p., la'oial palpus; g<(l., 
galea, lobe of maxilla; lab., labium, or uuder lip. (Original.) 



latter are butterflies, flies, bees, and bugs, while the ]arva3 
of most flies and bees do not possess mouth-parts homol- 
ogous with those of the above. 

Biting Mouth-parts. — Mouth-parts typical of those of 
biting insects are easily seen in the grasshopper (Figs. 4, 5, 
and 6). In brief, they consist of an upper and a lower 
lip, between which are two pairs of jaws which work trans- 
versely. The upper pair of jaws, or mandiJjhs (md.), are 
stout, sliort, and horny, usually sharpened at the tip, 



STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF INSECTS. 



13 



slightly serrated at the margins, and flattened at the base. 
The lower pair of jaws, or maxillce {mx.), are longer, not 
so strong, and to each of them is attached an accessory 
lobe, and a jointed style called a palpus or feeler. At each 




Fig. 5. — Mouth-parts of Grasshopper, separated to show position and 
relation, a, from above the mouth; b, lookiuo; into the month; 
c. from below tlie month. Ihr., labrum, or upper lip; md., man- 
dible or biting-jaw; mx., maxilla, or second jaw; lab , labium, 
or under lip: hyp., hypopharynx, or tongue; mx.j)., maxillary 
palpus. (Original.) 

side of the lower lip is another palpus, these palpi being- 
sensory organs. 

Sucking Moidli-parts. — In the sucking insects these 
mouth-parts are prolonged into a tube through which the 
juices of the food plant — or animal — are sucked. In the 
plant-lice and other bugs the lower lip is elongated so that 
it forms a tube, and the maxillae and mandibles consist of 
long hair-like bristles, or seta?, enclosed within this tube 
(Fig. 7). The tip of this beak is rested upon the surface 
of a leaf into which the set^ are thrust, lacerating the 
tissue, and by a pumping process of the mouth the juices 
are sucked up through the beak. The structure of the 
mouth-parts of the various orders of sucking insects varies 



14 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



considerably, but all agree in that their food must be 
sucked up in a liquid state. Any application of a poison - 




Fig. 6. — Cicada, showing Mouth-parts of a Bug, a Sucking Insect. 
a, seen from below, beak or rostrum {ro. G. ) reposing between 
forelegs; b, head removed; e, eye; lb7\, labrum; md., man- 
dible-setae; mx., maxillary setae ; lab., labium. (Original.) 

ous spray to the surface of foliage will be of no avail 
against them, though sure death to most biting insects 



STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF INSECTS. 



15 



wliich chew the leaves, and sucking insects must therefore 
be killed by other means. 

How Insects Breathe. 

In the side of one thoracic segment and each abdominal 
segment except the last, of a caterpillar or larva, is a small 




Fig. 7. — Mouth-parts of a Plant-louse; a, the jointed beak; h, the 
lancets, much enlarged; c, antenna; d, foot. (After J. B. 
Smith. ) 

oval spot, in the centre of which is a slit closed by two 
membranous lips. These apertures are called sj^iracles or 
stigmata (Fig. 8, st^-st^^), and are the openings of the 
respiratory system. Similar openings are to be found in 
all insects, though not so easily seen in the adults. Con- 
necting these spiracles is a pair of tubes on each side of 
the body, throughout its length, from which branch off 



IG 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



smaller tubes to all of its organs and tissues. Fresh air is 
thus inhaled to all parts of the body through these tubes 
(Fig. 8, tr). 





\%T^ ^ 


\ i\\h> I 


lmC)°' 


/^^^^^ 


^^^^^^^^' 


f^'^w^^Sk 




1 1 


wsy 



Fig 8, — Diagram of tracheal or breathing system of an Insect. 
.s-^j-6'^jQ, the ten pairs of spiracles; A, head; B^_^, the three seg- 
ments of the thorax; 7V., the two main tracheal trunks; trs., 
trachea leading from the main trunk to the spiracle; ti^u., tra- 
chea connecting the two main trachea; tri., visceral trachea; 
tro., ventral trachea; t7\, the anterior termination of the tra- 
chea; g.-g., nerve-cord with ganglia to which go branches of 
the visceral trachea; au., eyes; a, antennae; p, palpi; 7n, man- 
dibles; Pi-p^, bases of the legs. (After Kolbe.) 



The blood of insects does not circulate through any 
system of tubes as it does in the higher animals. Along 



STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF INSECTS. 



17 



the middle of the back, above the alimentary canal, is a 
long tube po^Kilarly called the heart (Fig. 9, Ir, Fig. 10, 
dr). This heart is composed of a number of chambers 
each of which is funished with side valves for admitting 
blood from the body-cavity. The blood coming into the 
heart from the body- cavity is propelled forward toward 
the head, where it again flows into the body-cavity. Thus 
various currents of blood are maintained throughout the 




Fig. 9. — Ideal section througli an insect, a, alimentary canal; h, 
heart; n, nerve-cord; s, stigmata: t, tracheal tubes; I, legs; w, 
wings. (From Riverside Nat. History.) 



body, but other than the heart there is no system of blood- 
vessels, the blood merely filling the body- cavity around 
and through the various organs and tissues. Constantly 
flowing around the respiratory tubes or tracheae, the blood 
is quickly and thoroughly purified, though the exact 
manner in which this is done is not definitely known. 
The respiratory system has absolutely no connection with 
the mouth or pharynx (Fig. 10, ^j/i), as have the lungs of 
the higher animals, and if an insect is to be suffocated, it 
must be done by closing the spiracles. It is in this way 



18 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



that tobacco-dust, lime, ^^yrethruni, and similar insecti- 
cides kill sucking insects by penetrating the spiracles and 
choking the tracheal system. Whale-oil soap, kerosene 
emulsion, and the other ^'contact" insecticides, or *^ irri- 
tants,'* may also stop u}) the spiracles and thus cause 
death, but they act chiefly as "irritants,'' penetrating the 




Fig. 10. — Internal Anatomy of Silkworm. A, the upper, or dorsal, 
body-wall seen from within; B, the back of the silkworm re- 
moved, showing alimentary canal; C, alimentary canal removed, 
showing nervous system and tracheal trimks; t?'., trachea; d.v., 
dorsal vessel or heart; p7i., pharynx or mouth; su., supra- 
cesophageal ganglion; sp. sp., spiracles or breathing-pores; n, 
nerve-cord; ^?\<., tracheal trunk; (?6S., oesophagus or throat; C7\, 
crop; s.g., silk-gland; pro., proventriculus or grinding-stomach ; 
St., stomach ; h.L, hind-intestine. (Photo, by author from Azoux 
model.) 

skin and thus killing the insect. When insects are killed 
by means of a gas such as carbon bisulfide or hydrocyanic 
acid gas, they are truly asphyxiated by a substitution of 
these gases for air, the same as are higher animals by the 
use of anaesthetics, 



STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF INSECTS. 19 

Though arsenical poisons are generally used as sprays 
for biting insects, soft-bodied caterpillars and similar larvae 
are often killed by the use of contact insecticides, which 
affect them the same as sucking insects. 

The reader will observe that, almost without exception, 
the remedies advised for different insect pests in the fol- 
lowing pages are determined by some peculiarity, either of 
structure or development, of the insect to be combated. 



CHAPTER III. 

GENERAL FARM METHODS AGAIjNST INSECT PESTS. 

In the following pages artificial means of combating 
insect pests, such as spraying with insecticides, are not 
as often the remedies or preventives given as those which 
consist of some method of general farm practice. That 
such should be the case is but natural, for the staple crops, 
being cultivated in large areas, can hardly be treated with 
sprays or mechanical devices, in many instances, with any 
degree of profit. The best methods to employ against 
most of the insects affecting the staple crops are what 
might be termed cultural methods, consisting of some 
mode of culture or handling the crop which fatally inter- 
feres with the develoj^ment of a given insect pest. Such 
treatment is far less simple in many instances, however, 
than the use of a spray-pumj) or powder-gun. In the 
latter case the farmer merely waits until he observes a crop 
being injured and then with a liberal a2:>plication of poison 
destroys his insect enemies; but in using the former 
method he must have a more or less accurate knowledge 
of the life-history of the insect which he wishes to combat. 
It will also be necessary for him to observe or ascertain 
the usual dates of the transformations of various insects 
for his particular locality, as they vary considerablv for 
different latitudes and altitudes, and to make due allow- 

20 



GENERAL FAUM METHODS AGAINST INSECT PESTS. 21 

auce for any variation of these dates on account of the 
peculiarities of the individual season. 

Looking Ahead. — Few farmers, in planning the manage- 
ment of their land and crops for the coming season, con- 
sider the effect which any given procedure will have upon 
the injurious insects with which they may have to contend. 
A field which has for several years been in wheat, corn, or 
tobacco may be sown with some other crop for the sake 
of soil improvement, or may even be favored with a green- 
manuring of rye, crimson clover, or cow-peas; but how 
often is it considered necessary to rotate crops in order to 
lessen insect pests ? In most cases the answer would 
doubtless be, " Not until some noticeable loss has been 
suffered from their injuries." That this is a mistake may 
be seen from a brief survey of the best methods for com- 
bating our worst insect pests. 

For this purpose let us take the list of sixty-three insects 
given in the Year Book of the United States Department 
of Agriculture for 1898 as a basis, it being carefully com- 
piled by experienced entomologists. 

But in passing, though foreign to our theme, it may be 
interesting to note that of these sixty-three insects twenty- 
seven have been imported from foreign climes, thirty-one 
are native, and four are of doubtful origin, so that we can 
correctly say that fully one-half of our worst insect 23ests 
are imported. Among those native to the United States 
are the Chinch-bug, Corn Root-worm, Cutworms, Locusts, 
and Colorado Potato- beetle: while among those imported 
are the Angumois Grain-moth, Gypsy Moth, Codling- 
moth, Cotton- worm, Sugar-cane Borer, Grain Weevils, 
Hessian Fly, and San Jose Scale. 

Of these sixty-three pests eight infest stored grains and 



22 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

liouseliold goods, and may be exterminated by the fumes 
of carbon bisulfide; and five are insects affecting cattle, 
and are combated with various washes. 

Thus only fifty are really to be considered insects of the 
farm crops. Of these, three are controlled by '- ditching," 
three by mechanical means or devices, and for two of them 
hydrocyanic acid gas is sure death, while a spray of whale- 
oil soap is advisable for two others, a spray of kerosene 
emulsion for six, and of Paris green or London purple for 
fifteen, these sprays, etc. , being used largely for orchard 
pests, which comprise eighteen of the fifty. But for the 
control of many of the insect pests affecting the staple 
crops, and which are, therefore, of the greatest economic 
importance, we have so far been unable to devise anything 
better than a judicious manipulation of purely natural 
agents, and for the control of twenty-three of the fifty 
farm insects listed, or nearly one-half, and 75 per cent of 
those outside the orchard, such methods must be mainly 
relied upon. 

Clean Farming. 

After a crop has been harvested, there is usually some 
portion of it which is allowed to remain on the land. In 
this refuse the insects peculiar to the crop often go on 
multiplying until winter, and greater damage to the crop 
in the following year is therefore probable. Thus the 
Wheat Joint-worm and the Corn Stalk-borer both winter in 
the stubble of those crops, the Potato Stalk-borer remains 
for some time in the vines, and numerous other cases 
might be cited. It is therefore of importance in our war- 
fare against insect pests that the remains of a crop, 
stubble, vines, leaves, or stumps, as it may be, should be 



GENERAL FARM METHODS AGAINST INSECT PESTS. 23 

removed from the field as soon after it is harvested as 
possible. Such material allowed to remain in the field 
also furnishes the adult insects an excellent place in which 
to hibernate over winter. Much can be done to rid a field 
of insects by cleaning it so thoroughly as to deprive them 
of shelter during the winter, during which time they 
hibernate under all sorts of rubbish, grass, and weeds, in 
fence-rails, loose bark of trees, etc. This fact may also 
often be utilized by first carefully cleaning a field and then 
leaving one or two piles of rubbish in which various insects 
will assemble during the winter, when they can be easily 
caught by burning the whole. Such a trap will be more 
effectual in catching the insects affecting truck crops than 
those of the staple crops. 

Weeds. 

But even when all the piles of litter and rubbish have 
been carefully cleared up many of our native insects will 
merely leave them for some common Aveed upon which 
they will feed and breed during the season, and, if it should 
be earlier than the cultivated crop, will continue upon it 
the following spring until the cultivated croj^ is to be 
secured for food. '• Volunteer '' plants should be included 
with weeds in this connection, as they frequently serve the 
same purpose. Thus the Cotton Boll-weevil feeds upon 
volunteer cotton during the spring, and the Hessian Fly 
on the volunteer wheat during late summer, while the 
Corn Root-louse lives on the roots of the smart-weed 
until corn is out of the ground. Then, too, many in- 
jurious insects feed in the larval or adult stage upon some 
common weed, while in the other stage they are injurious 
to a cultivated crop. The flea-beetles thus feed upon the 



24 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CKOl'S. 

roots of Solonaceous weeds during the larval stage, and 
attack all sorts of garden and truck crops as adults; one of 
the Corn Bill-bugs lives in the roots of a wild grass as a 
larva, but is injurious to corn as a beetle. The weeder 
can, therefore, be occasionally used as an insecticide as 
effectually as the spray-jmmp. 

Burning. 

To start a prairie fire in order to destroy all the insect 
life of the plain might prove to be poor policy, but the 
careful use of the torch has a distinct place upon the farm 
in controlling its insect foes. The burning over of stubble 
and grass land will very largely aid in or secure the entire 
extermination of Army-worms, Chinch-bugs, Locusts, 
and Wheat Joint- worms. Raking up and burning the 
vines will be excellent practice against the 8quash-borer, 
Squash-bug, Potato Stalk-borer, and Hop Plant-louse, 
while the removal and burning of all wild plum-trees in 
their vicinity will greatly lessen the damage to hops by 
the latter pest. 

Deep Fall Plowing. 

Deep fall plowing is being increasingly recommended 
for the reduction of many pests, and will be found to be 
of advantage for the Corn Stalk-borer, Corn Ear-worm, 
Cutworms, Locusts, and Wireworms. In both burning 
and fall plowing the object is to kill that stage in which 
the insect passes the winter. 

But this method does not affect all of these insects in 
the same manner. Some insects will be destroyed by 
having the cells in which they have gone to pass the winter 
broken up, and being thrown up to the surface, they will 



GENERAL FARM METHODS AGAINST INSECT PP:STS. 25 

be killed by the weather before they again provide them- 
selves with winter quarters. Among these are those which 
hibernate over winter as larvae, and those which pass it in 
the pupal stage. Among the former may be mentioned 
the Cutworms and the Corn Stalk=^ or Sugar-cane=borer 
larvas. Of those passing the winter as pupge, the Corn 
Ear-worm is a good example. It goes into the pupal stage 
in the fall, and this method of breaking up the pupal cells 
is practically the only way of combating it upon corn land. 
But whereas some insects are destroyed by exposing 
them on the surface, others may be literally buried alive 
and thus killed. One of the best instances of the value of 
fall plowing in this way is in the destruction of grass- 
hoppers' eggs. If they be turned under to the depth of 
five or six inches after they are laid in the fall, the young 
hat(5hing from them in the spring will be utterly unable 
to regain the surface and will thus be smothered to death. 
Other insects which pass the winter in the pupal stage, 
but wiiose pup^e are encased in a tough cell not easily 
broken open, may also be killed by being turned under in 
this manner. In fact, even adult insects may be so 
handled. After the plants are all thrown out of the ground 
in November the adults of the Mexican Cotton Boll-w^eevil 
can be readily caught in this w^ay and plowed under so 
deeply that they can never regain the surface. Young 
grasshoppers are also destroyed in a similar manner just 
after they have emerged from the eggs in the spring. 

It is a homely, common-sense method, but with a correct 
understanding of their life-histories it may be used to 
good advantage against many of our most common and 
injurious insects. 



26 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLK CROPS, 

Drainage. 

The Eice-weevil can be largely controlled by proper 
drainage, and the Corn Bill-bugs are usually injurious 
only on land adjacent to or recently reclaimed from swamp 
land, and disappear with the introduction of proper 
drainage. 

Fertilizers. 

In general, land covered with barnyard manure presents 
more favorable conditions for the development of insects 
than that fertilized with mineral fertilizers, sometimes 
furnishing them food and always affording a good shelter 
for the cold of winter. On the other hand, it is claimed 
that kainit, lime, and nitrate of soda are often of consider- 
able value in controlling, driving out, or preventing the 
attacks of insects. A liberal application of fertilizers in 
any form will always be of great value in preventing loss 
from root-feeding insects by enabling the plant to outgrow 
the injury and mature fruit in spite of it. 

Poultry. 

A flock of chickens or turkeys following the plow will 
pick up a great many White Grubs and Cutworms and can 
readily be trained to this — for them — rather pleasant task. 
In many tobacco-growing sections large flocks of turkeys 
are raised especially for destroying the Tobacco Horn- 
worm and are slowly driven through the tobacco-fields 
several times a day. 

Trap Crops. 

Doubtless the reason that trap crops are not more in 
favor v/ith the farmer is because their successful use 



requires more or less of a knowledge of the life-history and 
habits of the pest to be caught; yet this is easily acquired 
by a little observation and reading, and the men who 
combat these pests successfully are those wiio have such a 
knowledge of them. Let us consider, then, one or two of 
the more important cases where this principle may be used 
to advantage. 

The Harlequin Cabbage-bug is a southern insect, but 
it has recently been found in southern Pennsylvania and 
seems to be gradually working northward. When this 
insect has succeeded in reaching the cabbage-field it is an 
exceedingly difficult matter to prevent serious injury by it. 
If, however, a crop of early kale is planted the previous 
fall, the bugs which hibernate over winter will attack it in 
the spring, and may then be killed by spraying them with 
pure kerosene, and the danger to the cabbage crop be thus 
largely averted. 

The Corn Ear-worm, Tomato-worm, Tobacco Bud- 
worm, or Cotton Boll -worm, as it is variously known in 
different sections of the country, according to the crop 
which it most commonly infests, is one which must be 
treated almost entirely by means of a trap crop of corn. 
Unfortunately for that plant, however, this method can- 
not, of course, be of use in protecting the corn-field, where 
it must be controlled as best it may by breaking up the 
cells of the hibernating pui^a? by late fall plowing. But 
as corn is the favorite food of the worms, and the moths 
will invariably deposit their eggs in its silk, tobacco, 
cotton, and possibly tomatoes may be largely protected 
by a proper handling of the corn crop. By planting an 
early crop of corn, the moths will deposit their eggs in the 
silk; and before the worms have become full g-rown it 



28 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLK CROPS. 

should be cut and fed to stock. Another crop shoukl have 
been 2^ hinted near by, or in alternate rows with the 
previous one, so as to mature a little later, and it should 
be handled in the same manner. Even a third will prove 
to be of considerable value. In this way the worms will 
be trapped in the corn, and the more valuable crop pro- 
tected. Sweet corn is the best to use, and a few strips will 
often be found to be of great value when properly used. 

Xumerous other instances of the successful ai323lication 
of this principle might be cited, and several are mentioned 
under the discussion of individual insects. With a correct 
knowledge of the habits of a given pest, the ingenious 
farmer will often find the method one of great value. 

Time of Planting. 

The proper time of planting is of imj^ortance in the 
protection of many crops from insect attacks. Late-sown 
wheat is usually exempt from the attack of the Hessian 
Fly. Late-planted corn is much less affected by the 
Stalk-borer than that planted earlier in the season. 

Rotation. 

A very imj^ortant, if not indeed the most important, 
factor in insect control is the rotation of crops in such a 
manner that no single crop shall be continuously grown 
on the same land, or any two crops nearly related botani- 
cally. Allowing land to remain in meadow for some time 
forms a breeding-ground for White Grubs, Cutworms, and 
Wireworms, and if it is then desirable to cultivate the land, 
it should be planted in potatoes or some such crop 
unrelated to the grasses. It may then be planted with 
small grains, and then with corn; for if the number of 



GENERAL FARM METHODS AGAINST INSECT PESTS. 29 

these insects in tlio grass laud be at once concentrated 
upon the comparatively few corn plants, the in jnry will be 
much more severe than if the change be a gradual one, 
with first a crop not of the grass family which would be 
largely immune from their attacks, and then a small grain. 
The value of rotation is possibly best illustrated in the case 
of the Western Corn Koot-worm, which is never injurious 
to corn after the land has been in a small grain or clover. 
The Hessian Fly, Wheat Isosoma, Wheat Plant-louse, 
Wireworms, and many other of our worst pests may be 
largely controlled by a rapid rotation, and their increase 
and consequent depredations are very often due almost 
entirely to a lack of such practice, which is also of the 
utmost importance in preventing soil depletion. 

Thus a proper urderstanding of the pests with which 
he has to deal and a timely consideration and application 
of these homely methods may be of the greatest value, 
and indeed often the only available means for the control 
of the larger part of the insect enemies of the general 
farmer. 



CHAPTER IV. 
BENEFICIAL INSECTS, PREDACEOUS AND PARASITIC. 

Ladybird-beetles. 

Aftp:u his strawberries have been ruined by the Straw- 
berry-weevil, the garden truck by Cutworms, the wheat 
despoiled by the Hessian Fly, the melon-patch fallen a 
prey to plant-lice, and the fruit crop has been a failure on 
account of the Codling-moth, Plum Curculio, and San 
Jose Scale, it is scarcely surprising that the farmer does 
as one of my acquaintances did and '^ orders the hands to 
kill everything that crawls/' 

But such would be entirely too heroic a measure, and 
if strictly adhered to the remedy would be as bad as the 
disease, for it would mean not only useless labor, but the 
destruction of the most effective means whereby insect 
pests are held in check. We pride ourselves — and justly 
— that with our Paris green and kerosene sprays and gas 
tent most of the crops can be effectually protected; but 
were it not for those other insects which feed upon these 
injurious forms, what an enormous and, in some instances, 
almost futile task it would bs! 

Among these beneficial insects the little Ladybird- 
beetles of the family CocciiieUidm are entitled to be in the 
first rank. Almost all the beetles and larva? feed upon 



BENEFICIAL INSECTS, PREDACEOUS AND PARASITIC. 31 

plant-lice and scale insects. Of such value are those 
feeding uj^on scale insects that not many years ago a large 
number of Australian species were imported into California 
that they might prey upon the San Jose and other scales. 
One of these was eminently successful and almost com- 
pletely destroyed the Cottony Cushion-scale. 

Of those feeding upon plant-lice, one of the most 
common is the Mne-spotted Ladybird [Coccinella novem- 
notdta). This beetle is about one-fourth of an inch long, 
with black head and body. The wing-covers are orange- 
yellow marked with nine black spots — four on each side 
and one on the central suture. The larva has been fancied 
to resemble a miniature alligator; it is nearly twice as 
long as wide, almost black, marked with bluish and orange 
spots, and has long legs, which carry it around quite 
rapidly. The beetles hibernate during the winter and 
come forth in the spring and lay their eggs wherever the 
young will be able to find food when they hatch. When 
the larva has satisfied its ravenous appetite and become 
full grown it fastens itself to the food-plant — seemingly 
by its tail, if such a term might be allowed, — transforms 
to the pupa, and in a week or ten days the adult beetle 
emerges from the pupal skin. This life- cycle is repeated 
several times during the summer season, before the fall 
brood turns into winter quarters. 

Another very common form among plant-lice on garden 
truck is the little Adalia hipunctata, or Two-spotted Lady- 
bird. It is slightly smaller than the preceding, and with 
only one black spot on each wing-cover (Fig, 11). 

Several other species in the genus Hippodamia are very 
useful, and among them the Convergent Ladybird 
{Hip2)odamia convergens) is one of the best known. Its 



32 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



iRimo is received from two white dashes on tlie black 
thorax, which converge posteriorly. The thorax has also 




a white margin, and there are thirteen black dots on its 
orange wing-covers. These larva3 and l)eetles are very 
common among the plant-lice on melon-vines, and are an 
important factor in their extermination. They have also 



BENEFICIAL INSECTS, PREDACEOUS AND PARASITIC 33 



been noted for eating the Black Peach Aphis and many 
other plant-lice. 

A form which is often very abnndant among lice on corn 




Fig 12.— 1, the Fifteen- spotted Ladybh d : a, larva eating plant- 
louse; b, pupa; d, beetle. 2, the Convergent Ladybird {Hippo- 
damia converg6ns\ larva, pupa, and beetle. 3, the Nine- 
spotted Ladybird {Coccinella 0-notata). 4, Megilla maculaia. 
(After Riley.) 

is Megilla maculata. The head, thorax, and wing-covers 
are a dark pink, with two black spots on the thorax and 
ten on the wing-covers. Snch immbers of these little 
fellows have freqnently been 
found huddled together un- 
der the rubbish at the base 
of some tree in a last year's 
cornfield that they might be 

fuVon n-i^ l->Ar fbo bQi-,/i-Pni ^^^- 1^- — The TwicB-stabbed 
tdken up by the iiandtul Ladybird {ChUocorus Umilne- 

without difficulty. Many 'rus). a, beetle; b, larva. (After 
other species leed upon 

plant-lice, but the above are the most common, and all 
bear a resemblance to one another, being generally orange 
or red with black spots, and of a characteristic round or 




34 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

oval form, flattened below, so that the legs may be drawn 
in under the wing-covers. 

Those Ladybirds which feed upon scales are much 
smaller and black, though sometimes spotted with red or 
orange. 

As far as known, there is no way in which these useful 
allies may be encouraged or increased in numbers, but it 
is trusted that the above may give such a brief view of 
their habits that fewer may be killed through ignorance 
concerning their true worth. 

Syrphus-flies. 

Besides the little beetles described above there is a 
family of flies, the SyrphidcB, many of whose laiva3 feed 
upon plant-lice. This family is a very large one, and thus 
the luibits of its different members vary considerably. 
One of them so closely resembles a honey-bee as to be 
almost indistinguishable from it. The larva of this fly 
[Eristalis tenax) is one of the common Rat-tailed Maggots 
which is found in putrid nuitter. It is thought that the 
old '' bugonia '' superstition of the ancients that bees came 
from maggots in dead animals, etc., was due to the con- 
fusion of this fly with the honey-bee. 

In another group of the family, the adult flies of which 
also quite closely resemble bees, the larvee are parasitic in 
the nests of honey- and bumble-bees, feeding upon their 
larvae. 

But the larv^ of possibly the most typical portion of the 
family, embracing the genus Sifvplius and its near allies, 
are entirely predaceous upon plant-lice. Rarely can a 
colony of plant-lice be found without some of these little 
enemies hard after them. 



BENEFICIAL INSECTS, PKEDACKOUS AND PAKASITIC. 35 




The acUilt syrplics-fly is a very striking insect, with its 
dark green metallic thorax, and abdomen variously banded 
with yellow and black. The 
female fly lays her eggs 
upon some plant bearing 
plant lice. The 1 a r v ge 
which hatch from these are 
elongate, flattened mag- /^ " - ^^ 

gots,about one half an incli 
long, with hardly a trace Fig 
of a head, but with four 
small hooks, which serve as jaws, projecting from the more 
pointed end of the body. These maggots are often of a 
light green color, and so like the color of the plants as to 
render them most difficult to be recognized. The young 
larv« at once commence crawling over the plant in search 
of the ajohids, and as soon as ihey come in contact with 
one it is firmly clasped by the small booklets until the 
juices are sucked from its body. In this manner very 



14. — Byvplius ribesii. (Au- 
thor's illustration. ) 




Fig. 15. — The Hoot -louse Syrphus-fly {Pipiza radicans). 
got; h, puparium; c, fly. (After Riley.) 



a, mag- 



large numbers are destroyed, a single maggot of the 
American Syrphus-fly (Syrplnis americanus) having been 
observed to eat twenty-five Apple Plant-lice {Aj^Jiis mali) 



36 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

in as many minutes. When the larva is ready to pupate 
it attaches itself to a leaf, and the larval skin dries up and 
forms a case or puparium inside of which the pupa remains 
until it transforms to the adult fly. 

Though most of these larva? feed upon plant-lice upon 
the leaves, one of them, the Koot - louse Syrphus - fly 
{Pipiza radicans), lives entirely underground during that 
stage, aud feeds upon the root-lice of the apple and the 
grape. None of tliis family are injurious, and as a large 
portion of them are so beneficial as to frequently destroy 
whole broods of plant-lice, they should not be disturbed 
in their good work if possible to avoid it. 

The Ground-beetles. 

If, as you scrape away the loose chips at the base of a 
tree in your door-yard, turn over an old log in the wood- 
land, or pick up a fallen fence-rail, you will scrutinize the 
inhabitants under these shelters, a number of shining 
black beetles varying in length from one-fourth to one and 
one-half inches will usually be noticed. If the city reader 
be not so fortunate as to be familiar with or have access 
to these hiding-places, he may find large numbers of the 
beetles under any electric arc light during the warm 
summer evenings; for there they are having a sumptuous 
banquet upon the small flies and moths attracted by the 
glare. They are rarely seen at large during the day, as 
they are almost exclusively nocturnal insects, and from 
their habit of remaining almost entirely in or on the 
ground they are usually known as ''Ground-beetles." 
As might therefore be inferred, they are exceedingly 
valuable to the farmer by destroying large numbers of 
noxious insects which pass a part or all of their existence 



BENEFICIAL INSECTS, PREDACEOUS AND PARASITIC. 37 

in the soil. Besides tlie gloss}^ black forms which are 
most commonly seen, man}^ are brilliantly marked with 
gold, green, purple, and iridescent tints. 

The Fiery Ground-beetle (Calosoma calidun)), so called 
on account of the wing-covers being dotted with bright 
gold, has many times been of great assistance in helping 
to rid. a corn-field of Cutworms. The larv^ of this insect 




Fig. 16.— The Fiery Ground- 
beetle {Calosoma calidum). 
a, beetle; h, larva. (After 
Riley.) 




Fig. 17. -''The Searcher" {Ca- 
losoma scrutator). (After Ri- 
ley.) 



are about one inch in length, of a dark brown color, with 
the skin of a hard, horny texture like that of the beetle. 
They have strong, prominent jaws, and at the j^osterior 
end of the body is a forked aj^pendage looking much like 
another pair of jaws. It is not only surprising that these 
larvae will eat so large a number of cutworms, as they have 
frequently been known to do, but also that they will 
dare to attack such a formidable creature fully three or 
four times as large as themselves. But their assault is 
sharp and vigorous, and a single larva has often been seen 



38 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CHOPS. 



to kill and eat in a short time several full-grown cntworms. 
Many instances of the good work of this beetle are on 
record, among which one by the late Prof. J. A. Lintner 
might be cited, where he found them eating large numbers 
of the Corn-crambus — sometimes locally known as the 
Corn Bud-worm, Another somewhat larger beetle, called 
by Prof. J. H. Comstock '' the Searcher" [Ccdosoma scrtt- 
t(itor), and in fact one of the largest of the family, is a 
brilliant metallic green, bordered with a dark purplish 
blue, and has the good quality of having a very particular 
appetite, causing it to kill large numbers of caterpillars, 
but eating only part of each, 

While in the earth as pup^ large numbers of the Colo- 
rado Potato-beetles are destroyed by members of this 
family, and one species, Lehia grandis, which is peculiar 





Fig. is.— Lehia grandis. 
Riley.) 



lAftcr Fk;. 19.— The Murky Grcnmd 
])eetle [ILirpalus cuUginosiu, . 
(xifter Riley.) 



in that the wing-covers are somewl:iat abbreviated, thus 
leaving the tip of the abdomen exposed, has been noticed 
on the plants eating the eggs and young larvae of this old 
potato pest. 

Another valuable species is one called l)y Dr. Riley the 



BENEFICIAL INSECTS, PllEDACEOUS AND PARASITIC. 39 

Murky Ground-beetle (Ilarpalus caligiiiosvs). Its larva 
is of considerable assistance to fruit-growers by eating large 
numbers of Curculio larvge, which it secures from the 
plums after they have fallen to the earth. From a glance 




Fig. 20.—^, larva of Murky Ground-beetle; B head of same; G , 
mandible. 

at its formidable jaws, Fig. 20, l-c, it is easy to conjec- 
ture the fate of many a curculio grub. 

Thus here again are found some " bugs ^' that are friends 
and not foes, worthy of all the protection that can be 
afforded them, and well repaying such carefal observation 
of their habits as may be bestowed upon them. 



Insect Parasites. 

Though large numbers of injurious insects are annually 
destroyed by those which are purely predaceous upon 
them, many more succumb to those minute forms which 
live parasitically within them. A few of these parasites 
belong to the order Dipfera, or true flies, but most of them 
are classed in the order Hymenoptera, in which order are 
also included the saw-flies, ants, wasps, and bees. 

Of the half-dozen families of hymenopterous j)arasites 
one of the largest and most beneficifil is that of the 
Ichneumon-flies. The illustrations will best shoAv the 
form and structure of these insects, which the casual 



40 INSECTS INJURTOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

observer will Imrclly be able to dibtinguisli from other 
fiimilies of the group. But it will be noticed that the fine 
veins of the wings vary considerably in the difPerent para- 
sites figured, and it is by these that the entomologist is 
enabled to separate the different groups and often to 
identify the species at a glance. Both this and the fol- 
lowing family are peculiar in having an exceedingly long 



Fin. 21. — A Plant-louse Parasite {Aphidius granariapJiis), showing 
above the parasitized louse from which it has issued. (Copied 
from J. B. Smith ) 



ovipositor or egg-tube, of which it will be seen that they 
make a very good use. It is with this extensile tube that 
the female deftly punctures the skin of some unsuspecting 
caterpillar, and under it inserts her eggs. In a few days 
there hatch from these a host of young grubs, which feed 
upon the juices and tissues of the caterpillar, but are 
seemingly careful to avoid injuring any of its vital organs, 
for as soon as the caterpillar readies its full growth it 



r.ENEFICTAL INSECTS, PREDATEOUS AND PARASITIC. 41 

changes to a pupa, apparently unaffected. But now the 
maggots have reached their full size, and each spins wp a 
small silken cocoon inside the pupa, entirely filling np its 
now dead shell, and instead of a beautiful moth ai3pearing 
in the spring, from a round hole in the side of the pupa, 
or cocoon, a horde of small flies are seen to emerge. 

Thus large numbers of such pests as the Apple-tree 
Tent-caterpillar {CUsiocampa americana), Bag-worms 




Fig. 22. — Maggots of rimpht utquisitor, a parasitic Icbnenmon- 
fly, feeding on a caterpillar wliich had spun its cocoon and was 
ready to pupate. (Original.) 

[Tltyridopteryx epliemercefoiDiis), caterpillars of the swal- 
low-tailed butterflies which feed upon parsley, carrots, 
etc., and a host of others, are consumed by members of 
this family. 

Those belonging to the genus Opliion are partial to the 
large American silkworms which produce some of our 
largest and most beautiful moths, and difficulty is fre- 
quently experienced in rearing a desired number of moths 
on account of the large per cent of cocoons parasitized. 

The species of the family Braconidce are very similar to 
those of the preceding one, and contain some equaHy 



42 



INSECTS INJrilTOrS TO STAPLE riJOPS. 



beneficial insects, feeding ;is they do 14)011 i'wvh pests as 
the Codling-motli, Web-worms, riiini-eiirciilio grub, Thmt- 
lice, etc. Some of the more common forms of this family 
belong to the genus Micrcgasto', and their small white 
cocoons may frequently be seen almost covering one of 
our large tomato- or tobacco-worms (see page 237), the 




Fig. 23. — The Long-tailed 0\i\\ioii [Opliion mnerxirum). «, adult; 
h, maggot. (After Riley.) 



pupae of which are often known as *' horn-blowers." Many 
mistake these cocoons for the eggs of the worms, and there- 
fore destroy some of their best friends. Though some 
thus spin their cocoons on the outside of the host, others 
remain inside of the parasitized insect until the adult fly 
emerges. Thus dead plant-lice may often be found with 
a large round hole in the abdomen — the only evidence of 



I3ENKF1CIAL INSECTS, PUEDACEOUS AM) PARASITIC. 43 

where one of these j^arasites has emerged. For this reason 
as a general rule dry, shrunken plant-lice should never be 
destroyed. 

The Chalcis-flies, which comprise another closely re- 
lated family, are exceedingly minnte insects, sometimes 
not over one one-hnndredth of an inch long. They are 
generally of a metallic black color, and the usual veins of 
the wings are almost entirely absent. Many of these flies 
are parasitic upon plant-lice, while a large number of their 
larvae live and mature in the eggs of other insects. 

Very similar to the Chalcis-flies in their habits of infest- 
ing plant-lice and insect eggs are some even smaller insects 
— in fact the smallest known, the largest being rarely over 
one twenty-fifth and the smallest only six or seven one- 
thousandths of an inch in length — with a corresjoondingly 
tremendous and unpronounceable name, known to science 
as the Proctotryjjidce. 

But enough has been said to indicate the important part 
which the immense hordes of these apparently insignificant 
insects play in the economy of Nature, by often clearing 
off a most dreaded insect pest in a few days almost as if 
by miracle. 



CHAPTER V. 

mSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. 

Under the above head several common insects which 
are injurions to almost all of the grains and grasses may 
be conveniently gronped, thus distinguishing them from 
those which affect a few or an individual species. 

White Grubs {Lachnosterna spp.). 

Of all the insects attacking cereal crops none are 
better known than the so-called ''white grubs/^ I say 
" so-called," for the Englishman has styled this larva the 
"cockchafer grub," the Frenchman calls it " ver blanc," 
and the German has named it the "engerling," while 
here in America the adult beetles are known both as May- 
beetles, June-bugs, and dor-bugs, and when flying in the 
windows and buzzing around the ceilings are often termed 
" pinching-bugs." In Euro2:>e white grubs have long been 
recognized as one of the agriculturist's worst insect foes, 
and their depredations were noted in this country as early 
as the middle of the seventeenth century. 

Life-history. — As for most of our grain insects, grass 
land is their favorite haunt, and the female beetle usually 
lays her eggs in old meadows, though not infrequently in 
corn land. The eggs, which are glossy white, about one 

44 



INSECTS INJUinOUS TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. 45 

eighth of an inch long, and broadly oval, are laid early in 
June and hatch in from 11 to 13 days. The grubs hatch- 
ing from these feed upon the plant-roots, growing but 
slowly, as they require a bout two years to become full- 




grown. Meanwhile, however, each grub does its full share 
of damage, especially to corn and grass, and often to the 
smaller grains. Its attacks have also long been feared by 
the growers of strawberries, potatoes, and garden truck. 



46 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

as well as by nurserymen and greenhouse florists. The 
grub becomes full-grown in the summer of the second year 
after hatching from the egg. 

It then forms a small oval cell from three to ten inches 
below the surface of the soil, and here changes to the 
pupa. The pupal stage lasts slightly over three weeks. 
Late in August or early in September another transforma- 
tion takes place and the adult beetle wriggles out of the 
pupal skin, but remains m the earthen cell until the fol- 
lowing spring, when it comes forth fully hardened m May 
or June. The beetles at once pair, and the females 
deposit their eggs and soon die. Thus three full years are 
consumed in the complete life-cycle of each brood. 

Injury. — Ha\'ing seemingly formed a dislike to the light 
of day from their long subterranean existence, the adult 
beetles feed and pair entirely at night. The foliage of 
almost all of the common forest- and shade- and occa- 
sionally fruit-trees suffers from their attacks. Injury to 
maple-trees has been specially observed. About 9 p.m. of 
an evening early in June, thirty-five beetles were once 
taken by the writer from a small silver-maple tree about 
eight feet in height, and they were equally numerous on 
all of a long row of these trees. 

But the grubs and beetles are too common to need 
description and may be recognized from the figures. It 
may not, however, be known that the term ^^ white 
grubs ^' is generally applied to the larva? of many distinct 
species of the genus Lachnosterna and one of Cijclocephala, 
which so far as known have practically the same habits, 
except that the larva? of the latter genus remain over 
winter as dormant larva? and pupate in May. 

By cutting off the ta])-root and feeding roots of corn, 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. 47 

white grubs have often been responsible for the total or 
partial failure of large areas of corn land. In 1895 the 
grubs so injured one twenty -year-old meadow of 250 acres 
in Illinois that the sod could be rolled up like a carpet 
over the entire field. 

Bemedies. — Unfortunately, as regards remedies for this 
pest little is known. Though eaten by various birds and 
parasitized by a half-dozen or so insects, yet these natural 
enemies seem to^e of little value for holding the grubs in 
check. Leaving land in meadow for several years is 
undoubtedly conducive to their rapid increase; and hence 
a short rotation in which clover follows grass and which is 
in turn followed by the small grains before corn will very 
largely prevent serious damage to the latter crop. Poisoned 
bran mash such as used for cutworms (see page 217) is 
reported as having been used successfully against the grubs 
by scattering it over infested land. 

If turned loose in infested grass land, swine will fairly 
gorge themselves on the grubs, and, prior to plowing grass 
land for corn, this will be found to be one of the best 
means for ridding it of grubs. The hogs will also feed as 
freely upon the beetles which drop to the ground from the 
trees and hide during the day, and hence they may be of 
considerable benelit in woodland adjoining infested fields. 
A flock of chickens or turkeys following the plow or culti- 
vator will also be found to consume not a few of the grubs. 
In Europe the beetles are systematically jarred from the 
trees in the early morning by organized bands composed 
mostly of women and boys, in much the same manner as we 
'* jar" for the Plum-curculio. But such methods, as well 
as spraying seem hardly practicable in our larger (Country, 
except possibly for young orchard -trees, which are often 



48 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

seriously defoluited. As the booties renuiin in the pupal 
cells over winter and are still tender, not fully hardened, 
deep fall plowing will destroy a large number of them by 
breaking open the pupal cells and exposing them to the 
weather, and by burying or crushing them. But possibly 
the best method of preventing serious injury by white 
grubs, and one which will not only be of benefit in securing 
immunity from the attacks of this as v\^ell as many other 
insect pests, but will also cause less drain upon the soil, 
is a judicious rotation of crops, avoiding a continual 
growth of grass in any one field. 



Wireworms {Elaferidm). 

Injury. — The soil has been properly prepared and the 
field carefully planted. Day after day the anxious farmer 
awaits the sprouting of the young shoots of grain. But 
all in vain ! Still no signs of growth appear. So, appre- 
hensive that he lose the use of the land, he removes the 
earth from some of the seed and there finds the kernels of 
corn or wheat either with a small round hole drilled 
through them or some ''hard, smooth, shining, reddish 
or yellowish-brown, slender, cylindrical, six-legged larvae " 
still devouring the seeds, with their heads firmly embedded 
in them. If he be a man of any experience, he at once 
recognizes the work of wireworms and wastes no time in 
reseeding his field, for of all the insects attacking grain in 
the seed, these are the most common and destructive. If 
later on the resown seed secures a start, its growth is 
exceedingly liable to be stunted by the worms attacking 
the smaller roots, and it may even ])e killed when several 
inches high by their boring through the underground 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. 49 

stalk. All the grains are attacked by wireworms, Dat 
wheat and corn suffer most, as well as potatoes, turnips, 
and many garden croj^s. 

7)e5cr/);//:oy^— Wireworms, which are the young of a 
number of beetles, which, from their habit of snapping 





Fig. 25. 

The Corn Wireworm {Melanotus The AYireworm of Drasterius ele- 
crihulosus), enlarged 4^ diam- gn7is, enlarged seven diam- 

eters. (After Forbes.) eters. (After Forbes.) 

their bodies up in the air, are known as "click-beetles,'' 
are all more or less like Fig. 25 in general appearance. 



Althouofh th 



e common wirewoi 



'ms are usually supposed to 
be of but one kind, upon examination several species will 



50 



INSEC^rS IXJUKIOUS TO STAPLIi CUOl'S. 



often be found which may be distinguished by a compari- 
son of the caudal segment with the illustrations (Figs. 27 
and 28). The adult beetles are mostly about one-half to 
three-fourths of an inch long, decidedly flattened, of a 
dark brown coJor, with short heads and shield-shaped 
thoraxes, as in Fig. 26. 

LIfe-hisfory. — Land which has been in grass for several 
years is their native breeding-ground, and here the eggs 




Fig. 26.— J., Beetle of Wheat Wire worm; B, Bmsterius elegans, 
both enlarged about 4 diameters. (After Forbes.) 

are deposited. Much concerning the life-histories of these 
important pests is still unknown, but it seems safe to assert 
that the larva3 require from three to five years to become 
full-grown. Thus the second year after grass land has 
])een planted in grain is that in which the worst injury 
occurs, and this is especially true with corn, which covers 
the ground less completely than do the smaller grains, 
The larvae become full-grown iu midsummer, form a small 
earthen cell, and there transform to the pupa3. Three or 
four weeks later the jidiilt l)eet]es shed the })U})al skin, l)ut 
only a few of them make their w^ay to the surface during 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. 51 

the fall, the most of the brood remaining in the pupal 
cells as partially hardened beetles until the following 
sj^ring. 

Means of Coin'b((t'nig. — Remedies galore have been 
advised for these insects, almost every farmer having his 




Fig. 27. — A, last segment of Melnnotus communis, dorsal view. 
(After Forbes.) B, the Wheat AVireworra. Agriotes munrm. 
a, b, r, d, details of mouth-parts, enlarge>l. (After Slinger- 
land.) 



favorite expedient, but in recent years a careful testing has 
shown that a satisfactory remedy or preventive for wire- 
worms is vet to be discovered. Professors Comstock and 




Fig. 28. — G, caudal segment of the Wireworm of Drasterius elegam 
D, caudal segment of the Wireworm of AsapJies decolovatm 
much enlarged. (After Forbes.) 



Slingerland performed extensive experiments for nearly 
three years in attempting to successfully combat these 
insects by (1) the prote(;tion of the seed, and (2) the 
destruction of the larvae by (r^) starvation in clear fallow 



53 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

and supposedly immune crops, and {b) ])y the use of in- 
secticides and fertilizers. But all the remedies or pre- 
ventives tested resulted in failure, and this has been the 
experience of several other leading entomologists. It was 
ascertained, however, that they may be more or less 
checked by destroying the beetles. This can be done both 
by fall plowing or by trapping. By plowing late in sum- 
mer and keeping the earth stirred for a period of a month 
or so, large numbers of the newly transformed beetles which 
do not become fully hardened until spring, and pupae, will 
be destroyed. When the wireworms are numerous in re- 
stricted areas, as they often are on spots of low moist land, 
they may be effectually trapped with but little labor by 
placing under boards bunches of clover, or sweetened 
corn meal poisoned with Paris green. 

A short rotation of crops, in which land is never allowed 
to remain in grass for any length of time, will undoubtedly 
secure comparative immunity from serious attack. 

The Chinch-bug {BUssus leucopterns Say).* 

Though individually insignificant, when assembled in 
countless myriads Chinch-bugs have doubtless been of 
greater injury to the farmers of the Mississippi Valley than 
any other insect attacking grain crops, and are responsible 
for hundreds of millions of dollars' loss. 

Distrihntion. — This insect may be found over all the 
eastern United States to the Rockies, and in restricted 

*See "The Chinch-bug," F. M. Webster, Bulletin 15, n. s., 
Div. Eut., U. S. Dept. Ag. ; Dr. S. A. Forbes, 12th, 16th, and 20th 
Repts. St. Ent. Illinois. 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THP: GRAINS AND GRASSES. 53 



localities in Cuba, Central America, Panama, Lower and 
Central California; but the area in which it has been most 
injnrions lies in the Central and North Central States. 
Daring the last fire years, however, its attacks have been 
increasingly wide-spread in Ohio and Kentnck}^ and in 
August, 1898, some damage was done by it in Pennsyl- 
vania and New York. 

De.^crijjticm. — The adult bug is about one-fifth of an inch 
long, with a black body. Its wdiite wings lie folded over 




Fig. 29.— The Adult Fig. 30.— a, h, eggs magnified and natural 
GhinQh-hngiBlissus size; c, young nymph; e, second stage of 
leui-opterus Say) nymph; /, third stage; g^ full-grown 
enlarged. (After nymph or pupa; d, h, j, legs; //beak 
Riley.) through which the bug sucks its food. 

(After Riley.) 

each other on the back of the abdomen, and are marked 
by a small black triangle on their outer margins, while the 
bases of the antennae, or feelers, and the legs are red. The 
young bugs are mostly red, but vary in the different stages. 
Life-liistory. — During the winter the bugs hibernate in 
clumps of grass and under boards and rubbish. With the 
first warm days of spring they come forth and spread about 
the neighboring wheat-fields, but there do little harm. 
V^ery soon they pair, and the females, each of which is 



54 



INSKOTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE (JKOPS, 




Fm. 81.— Corn-plant two feet tall infested with Chincli biio-s. 
(After Webster, Bull. 15, n. s., Div. Ent., U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. 55 

capable of laying 150 eggs, commence to deposit tliem 
either upon the roots or bases of the stalks. This occurs 
from the middle of April until the first of June, depend- 
ing upon the latitude and weather, and the eggs hatch in 
from two to three weeks. The nymphs often severely 
injure the small grains, and are full-grown about the time 
of harvest. As the wheat is harvested they spread to oats 
and soon to corn, but, curiously enough, though the adults 
have wings they prefer to travel from field to field on foot, 
much like Army-worms, and were it not for this fact we 
would be at a loss how to cope with them. Another lot 
of eggs are now laid under the unfolding leaves of the 
corn, and the young nymphs emerge in about ten days. 
This brood lives upon corn, and when full-grown is that 
which hibernates over winter. South of the latitude of 
southern Illinois there is often an unimportant third 
brood. The most extensive injury is done by the mature 
nymphs and adult bugs of the first brood. Though no 
means is known for preventing the ravages of this brood 
in the small grains, every effort should be made to defend 
the young corn from its attacks, for, with the innumer- 
able little beaks of the adult insects sucking out its life, it 
soon succumbs when they are reinforced by the largely 
multiplied numbers of the second brood. 

Methods of Prevention and Destruction. — During the 
migration from the small grains to corn seems to be prac- 
tically the only time when this pest may be successfully 
combated. Just before harvest a narrow strip should be 
plowed around the corn-field and this thoroughly pulver- 
ized by harrowing and rolling, and then reduced to as fine 
a dust as possible by dragging over it a brush composed 
of dead limbs, or whatever contrivance is most convenient. 



56 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

A log or block should now be dragged through this strip 
in such a manner as to form a deep furrow, with tlie incli- 
nation of its side next the corn as steep as possible. In 
attempting to climb this barrier, the dust will slide from 
under the bugs and large numbers of them will accumulate 
in the furrow, where, on a clear day, they will soon be 
killed by the heat if the temperature of the air be over 
88 degrees Fahrenheit (the soil wiJl then be 110 degrees 
Fahr.). The furrow may be kept clean by redragging the 
log through it as often as necessary. If the weather be 
cooler, the bugs should be further trapjDed by sinking holes 
with a post-hole digger about one foot deep every ten or 
twelve feet in the furrow. Large quantities will soon 
accumulate in the holes, and may be there crushed or 
killed with coal-tar or kerosene. 

Of course a sudden dash of rain will destroy such a 
furrow, and the bugs will then at once march on to the 
corn-field. In such an emergency a narrow strip of coal- 
tar, about the size of one's finger, should be run around 
the field a few feet inside the former furrow, with post- 
holes dug as before upon the outside of the line. Dislik- 
ing the smell of the tar, the bugs will again fall into the 
trajjs and may then be destroyed. As many stri2:)s may 
be made along the outer rows of corn as seem necessary to 
prevent their further progress. These strips of tar should 
be freshened whenever dust, straw, or rubbish has crossed 
them at any point. In this manner one Illinois farmer 
protected over 300 rods with less than a barrel of tar. 
That this method is practicable and efficient was 
thoroughly demonstrated by Prof. W. Gr. Johnson in a 
series of experiments in Illinois, in the report of whose 
work Prof. Forbes says: ''In short, the success of this 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. 57 

field experiment, tried under very difficult conditions, was 
substantially complete, and the value of this method of 
contest with the Chinch-bug seems established beyond 
controversy." 

Extensive experiments have been made in Illinois and 
Kansas in the use of the Muscardine fungus — Sporotrichiwi 
gloluliferum, — against the Chinch-bug. Though the re- 
sults have often seemed to indicate its use to be profit- 
able, yet it has never so commended itself — even to ento- 
mologists — as of sufficient value to be brought into general 
use, and its value must still be considered as largely 
problematical. 

If the bugs have already become numerous in the outer 
rows of corn, most of them may be destroyed by a spray 
of kerosene, which, with a tar strip, will effectually pro- 
tect the remainder of the field. Such a spray may be 
either (1) in the form of an emulsion, composed of a 
^' stock solution" of one pound of soap, one gallon of 
water, and two gallons of kerosene, prepared in the usual 
manner, and diluted with fifteen quarts of water; or (2) 
may be merely a mechanical mixture of about one part 
kerosene to four parts of water (20 per cent), which can be 
formed only by pumps with a special kerosene attachment, 
and which are now very largely doing away with the use 
of the soap emulsion. About a teacupful of this spray to 
a hill will be ample, and at this rate an acre will require 
about 60 gallons at a cost of about one dollar. 

In case of serious attack by the Chinch-bug the farmer 
must at once prepare to devote to combating it the time 
of as many hands as his interests may require; for the 
above methods require constant and personal supervision, 
but, where carefully tested by practical farmers, have been 



58 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

found to be the best and only means of preventing the loss 
of their crops. 

Locusts {Acrid idee). 

Plagues of destructive locusts — or what the American 
farmer terms grasshoppers — have been recorded since the 
dawn of history. In Anicrica the worst devastation has 
been done by flights of the Rocky Mountain or Migratory 
Locust (Mekt)Wpli(-s spretns Thos.), which swooped down 
upon the States of the western part of the Mississippi 
Valley in the years 1873-70 like a veritable horde of 
mountain robbers. Since then they have several times 
done considerable injury in restricted localities, but never 
in such numbers or so generally as to cause apprehension 
of another ^'grasshopper plague.^' 

Concerning their recent distribution, numbers, and 
destructiveness, Mr. W. D. Hunter reported after the 
season of 1897 : " There was, this season, a general activity 
of this species throughout the permanent breeding region 
greater than at any time in many years. This was brought 
about by a series of dry years, which have resulted in the 
abandonment of farms in many places. It is, of course, 
well understood that the absence of serious damage since 
187G has been partially due to the settling u}) of valleys 
in the permanent region. I wish to make it clear, how- 
ever, that the dryness is the primary and the abandoning 
a secondary cause. ^' 

The Rocky Mountain Locust. 

Let us first consider this the most injurious species, as 
the other locusts differ from it in but few essential points 
other than in being non-migratory. 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. 59 

To correctly nnclerstancl its habits the reader should 
first divide the area which this species affects into three 
parts. Of these the (1) '' Permaneut Region, including 
the highlands of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado, forms 
the native breeding-grounds, where the species is always 




Fig. 32. — Rocky Mountain Locust. 

found in greater or less abundance/^ * (2) The Sub- 
permanent Region, including Manitoba, the Dakotas, and 
western Kansas, is frequently invaded. Here the species 
may perpetuate itself for several years, but disapj^ears 
from it in time. (3) The Temporary Region, including 
the States bordering the Mississippi River on the west, is 
that only periodically visited and from which the species 
generally disappears within a year. 

Spread. — When for various reasons the locusts become 
excessively abundant in the Permanent Region they spread 
to the Subpermanent Region, and from there migrate to 
the Temporary feeding-grounds. It is the latter area 
which suffers most severely from their attacks, but, for- 
tunately, they generally do not do serious injury the next 
year after a general migration. In the Subpermanent 
Region their injuries are more frequent than in the Tem- 
porary, but hardly as severe or sudden as farther east. 
Immigrating from their native haunts, flights of the grass- 
hoppers usually reach southern Dakota in early summer, 
Colorado, I^ebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, and western Kansas 

*Bull. 25, U. S. Dept. Ag., Div. Entomology. C. V. Riley. 



GO 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLIC CROPS. 



daring midsummer, and southeastern Kansas and Missouri 
during late summer, appearing at Dallas, Texas, in 1874, 




Fig. 33. — Rocky Mountain Locust. Different stages of growth 
of young, 

about the middle of October, and even later in 1876. As 
thus indicated, the flights are in a general south to south- 




FiG. 34.— Rocky Mountain Locusts, a, a, a, females indifferent 
positions, ovipositing; b, egg-pod extracted from ground, with 
end broken open; c, a few eggs lying loose on ground; d, e, 
show the earth partially removed, to illustrate an egg- mass 
already in place and one being placed ; / shows where such an 
egg-mass has been covered up. (After Riley.) 

easterly direction, while west of the Rockies they descend 
to the more fertile valleys and plains, but without any such 
regularity as east. While the rate of these flights is 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. CI 

variable and entirely dependent upon local weather condi- 
tions, twenty miles a day may be considered a fair average. 
The flights are more rapid and more distance is covered in 
the early part of the season, when, while crossing the dry 
prairies, a good wind will often enable them to cover 200 
to 300 miles in a day. As they first commence to alight 
in their new feeding-grounds their stay is limited to but 
two or three days, but later in the season it is considerably 
lengthened, and, after being once visited, in an infested 
country swarms will be seen to be constantly rising and 
dropping during the middle of the day. 

Life-lmtory. — Over all the infested area, and while still 
sweeping it bare of crops and vegetation, the females com- 
mence to lay their eggs, and continue to deposit them from 
the middle of August until frost. For this purpose '' bare 
sandy places, especially on high, dry ground, which is 
tolerably compact and not loose,'' are preferred. " Meadows 
and pastures where the grass is closely grazed are much 
used, while moist or wet ground is generally avoided.'' 

In such places the female deposits her eggs in masses of 
about thirty. These are placed about an inch below the 
surface in a pod-like cavity, which is lined, and the eggs 
covered by a mucous fluid excreted during oviposition. 
From two to five hours are required for this operation, and 
an average of three of these masses is deposited during a 
period of from six to eight weeks. 

As the time of ovipositing varies with the latitude, so 
the hatching of the eggs occurs from the middle or last of 
March in Texas till the middle of May or first of June in 
Minnesota and Manitoba. Until after the molt of the 
first skin, and often till after the second or third molt, 
the young nymphs are content to feed in the immediate 



02 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

vicinity of their birth. But upon such food becoming 
scarce they congregate together and in solid bodies, some- 
times as much as a mile wide, march across the country, 
devonring every green crop and weed as they go. During 
cold or damp weather and at night they collect under 
rubbish, in stools of grass, etc., and at such times almost 
['eem to have disappeared; but a few hours of sunshine 
brings them forth, as voracious as ever. When, on account 
of the immense numbers assembled together, it becomes 
impossible for all to obtain green food, the unfortunate 
ones first clean out the underbrush and then feed upon the 
dead leaves and bark of timber lands, and have often been 
known to gnaw fences and frame buildings. Stories of 
their incredible appetites are legion ; a friend informs me 
that he still possesses a rawhide whip which they had quite 
noticeably gnawed in a single night! 

By mathematical computation it has been shown that 
such a swarm could not reacli a point over thirty miles 
from its birthplace, and as a matter of fact they have 
never been known to joroceed over ten miles. 

As the nymphs become full-grown they are increasingly 
subject to the attacks of predaceous birds and insects, 
insect parasites, fungous and bacterial diseases, as well as 
being largely reduced by the cannibalistic appetites of 
their own numbers. When the mature nymphs transform 
to adult grasshoppers and thus become winged, large 
swarms are seen rising from the fields and flying toward 
their native home in the Northwest. This usually takes 
place during June and early July in the North, and as 
early as April in Texas, so that it is frequently impossible 
to distinguish the broods of the temporary region from 
the incoming brood which has migrated from the perma- 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. 63 

neiit region. Although the eggs for a second brood are 
sometimes laid, these seldom come to maturity, and the 
species is essentially single-brooded. 

Enemies. — As before mentioned, large numbers of the 
nymphs are destroyed before reaching maturity by their 
natural enemies. Among these a minute fungus un- 
doubtedly kills many of those already somewhat exhausted, 
especially during damp weather. Almost all of our com- 




FiG. 35. — Anthomyia, egg-parasite, a, fly; h, puparium; c, larva; 
d, bead of larva. (After Riley.) 

mon birds, as well as many of the smaller mammals, are 
known to feed quite largely upon them. 

A small red mite [Tromhidium locustarum Riley), some- 
what resembling the common Red Spider infesting green- 
houses, is often of great value not only in killing the 
nymphs by great numbers of them sucking out the life- 
juices of the young hopper, but also in greedily feeding 
upon the eggs. 

The maggots of several species of Tachina-flies are of 
considerable value in ^parasitizing both nymphs and adult 
locusts. Their eggs are laid on the neck of a locust, and. 



64 



INSECTS INJUltlOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



upon hatching, the maggots pierce the skin and live inside 
by absorbing its juices and tissues. When full-grown the 
maggots leave the locust, descend into the earth, and there 




transform to pupa3 inside of their cast skins, and from the 
pupae the adult flies emerge in due time. 

The maggots of one of the Bee-flies (Systceclius oreas) 
feed upon grasshopper-eggs, but their life-history is not 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. G5 



fully known. The common Flesh-fly (Sarcophaga car- 
naria Linn.), Fig. 39, is also very destructive, though 
largely a scavenger. 





Fig. 37.— Tachlna-fly. {Exo- 
rista leucanim Kirk). (After 
Riley.) 



Fig. 38. — Tachina-fly. [E. 
flitmcauda Riley). (Alter 
Riley.) 




Fig. 39. — Common Flesh-fly {Sarcophaga carnaria Linn.), a, larva; 
b, pupa; c, fly. Hair-lines show natural size. (After Riley.) 




Fig. 40. — Various stages of a Blister-beetle {Epicauta mttata). 
(After Riley. ) 

But of all the insects attacking locusts, the Blister- 
beetles, which, unfortunately, are often known to us as 
very injurious to various garden crops, are probably of the 



66 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

most value. The feninle beetle deposits from four to five 
hundred of her yellowish eggs in irregular masses in loose 
ground, and in about ten days there hatch from these eggs 
some " very active, long-legged larvae, with huge heads and 
strong jaws, which run about everywhere seeking the eggs 
of locusts.'' Each of these ]arva3 will consume one of the 
masses or about thirty eggs. The subsequent life-history 
of these insects is very complicated on account of their 
peculiar habits, but the various stages are shown in Fig. 
40. 

The Lesser Migratory Locust. 

Besides the Rocky Mountain Locust there is only one 
other species that truly possesses the habit of migrating, 
though to a far lesser extent, and which is therefore 
known as the Lesser Migratory Locust (Mela)ioplus atltmtis 
Riley). It is considerably smaller than its western relative 
and somewhat resembles the Red-legged Locust both in 
size and appearance. The species of very widely dis- 
tributed, occurring from Florida to the Arctic Circle east 
of the Mississippi, and on the Pacific slope north of the 
40th parallel to the Yukon. The habits and life-history 
of the species are in all essentials practically the same as 
of the former species except that they have no particular 
breeding-grounds. Injuries by this grasshopper were first 
noticed in 1743, almost seventy-five years before the first 
record of the Rocky Mountain Locust, and since then they 
have done more or less serious damage in some part of the 
territory inhabited every few years. 

Non- migratory Locusts. 

There are several species of locusts which, though lack- 
ing the migratory habit, and thus being more easily con- 
trolled, often become so numerous as to do serious damage 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GHAlNS AND GRASSES. 67 




Fig. 41. — The Two-striped Locust (MelnnojJlus hMttatus Scud.). 
(After Riley.) 




Fig. 42. — The Differential Locust {Melanoplus cUjferentialis Thos.; 
(After Riley.) 




Fig. 43. — The American Acridium (Schistocerca americana Scud.). 
(After Riley.) 




Fig. 44. —Red-legged Locust (Melanoplus femur-ruhrum Harr.). 
(After Riley.) 



68 INSECTS IN.TUKIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

over limited areas. Both as regards the regions inhahited, 
its habits, and life -history, the common Red-legged Locust 
(Melanoplas feDiur-ruhriim Har.) hardly differs from the 
last species and is often found m company with it. It is 
non-migratory, however, and though its injuries are thus 
entirely local, they are often of considerable importance. 

Records of locust-plagues in California date back as far 
as 1722. Many of them were doubtless due to the Cali- 




FiG. 45. — The Pellucid Locust {G<fmnuht pellucida Scud.). (After 
Einerton.) 

fornia Devastating Locust {Melmioplus devastator Scud.), 
and in the last invasion of 1885 this species outnumbered 
all others seven to one. Resembling the last two species 
in size and markings, the habits and life-history of this 
species are also supj)osed to be similar to them, though 
they have not as yet been thoroughly studied. 

Together with the last species the Pellucid Locust 
[Camuula pellucida Scud.) has been largely responsible for 
the losses occasioned by locusts in California, and has also 
been found in New England, but not noted there as 
specially destructive. 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. ()9 

Considerably larger than the 2)recediiig species are tbo 
Differential Locust {Jlelanoplus differeuiialis Thos.) and 
the Two-striped Locust [Melanoplus hivittatus Scud.), of 
which the former is peculiar to the central States of the 
Mississi2:»pi Valley, Texas, New Mexico, and California, 




Fig. 46.— a Swarm of Grasshoppers Attacking a Wheat-field. (After Riley.) 
while the latter has a more extended range from Maine to 
Utah and as far south as Carolina and Texas. These two 
differ from the smaller species in laying only one or two 
masses of eggs, and the eggs of differe7itialis have often 
been found jilaced under the bark of logs, but otherwise 
their habits are very similar. The Two-striped Locust is 



'^O INSECTS IN-JtJIlIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

characterized by two yellowish stripes extending from the 
eyes along the sides of the head and thorax to the extremi- 
ties of the wing-covers, and is probably the species most 
commonly observed by the farmer. 

The Differential Locust. 

An nn usually severe outbreak of the Differential Locust 
occurred in Mississippi and Louisiana in 1899 and 1900 
and was quite fully investigated by Prof. H. A. Morgan^ 
and iuterestingly reported upon by him.* It seems that 
outbreaks of this grasshopper invariably occur immediately 
after an overflow of the Mississippi or crevasses through 
the levees, which inundate the surrounding country, caus- 
ing a rank growth of vegetation and rendering the land 
unfit for cultivation for a season or two, during which time 
the grasshoppers have every opportunity for rapidly 
increasing in abnormal numbers. '^ Should heavy rains 
prevail during May and June of the season immediately 
following the crevasse, nothing is heard of the ravages of 
grasshoppers; but should dry summers follow, the condi- 
tions for grasshopper propagation and development are 
much more favorable and complaints are common.^' 
" The habits of young grasshoppers to seek the soil-crevices 
during rain results in the burial of millions beyond the 
hope of resurrection. This, with the development and 
propagation of fungous diseases among the nymphs, are 
the most potent natural agencies which destroy grass- 
hoppers during wet summers.''! In 1899 thousands of 
acres of cotton, corn, and other crops were totally destroyed 

*See Bulletin 30, n. s., Div. Ent., U. S. Dept. A^^r., pp. 7-33. 
\ Morgan, 1. c, p. 33. 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. 71 

or sdriously injured, and only saved by a most persistent 
fight against the locusts. 

The eggs are deposited in a single mass of from 103 to 
132, mostly from August 10 to September 15. The young 
hatch from the eggs during the first three weeks of May 
and, after molting five times, become full-grown by the 
last week in June. They mate about the middle of July, 
and the eggs are laid a few weeks later. 

Our largest American locust, the American Acridium 
[Schistocerca americana Scud.), is practically confined to 
the Southern States from the District of Columbia to 
Texas, and thence south through Mexico and Central 
America, being rarely found in the Xorth. This species 
is essentially a tropical one, and has often been exceedingly 
destructive, being especially so in 1876 in Missouri, 
Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and southern Ohio. 

rcemedies and Preventives. — All of our destructive 
locusts having essentially the same life-history and habits 
except that of migrating, methods of combating them will 
apply almost equally well to all, but must, of course, be 
judiciously determined according to existing local condi- 
tions. 

Desfrndioii of the Eggs. — Of first importance in this 
warfare is the destruction of the eggs. In Europe, where 
labor is cheap, this is often done by hand-picking. That 
would hardly do in a western corn-field or wheat-ranch. 
They may, however, be quite successfully destroyed either 
by fall plowing or harrowing. In harrowing, '^the object 
should be not to stir deeply, but to pulverize the soil as 
much as possible to about the depth of one inch. Where 
the cultivator is used, it would be well to pass over the 
ground again with a drag- or brush -harrow for this pur- 



72 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

pose.* In this way many of the egg-pods may be broken 
up or left exposed on the surface. Prof. Morgan has 
shown that of eggs in Land thus treated 80 per cent failed 
to hatch. 

By plowing in the fall to a depth of about eight inches 
the same result is more surely accomplished by turning 
the eggs under to such a depth that the young hoppers 
upon hatching are unable to reach the surface. This will 
be made more effectual by then harrowing and rolling, so 
as to compact the surface as much as possible. Such, 
plowing might even be profitable if done in very early 
spring were it then followed by the usual spring showers, 
but in all probability it would be better to wait till the 
young are hatching, when large numbers of them can be 
buried by plowing infested fields in a square from the 
outside inward. 

Destroying the Nymphs. — Burning. — After hatching 
every effort should be made to destroy the locusts while 
still young. The burning of straw or hay stubble, dead 
grass, or rubbish, where it is present in sufficient quanti- 
ties, or even, if need be, by augmenting such with rows 
of straw, is one of the best methods, especially on cold 
days when the young hoppers are congregated under such 
materials. Several machines have been devised both for 
burning and crushing the nymphs, but all are of doubtful 
utility. 

Crushing. — When, however, the surface of the ground 
is smooth and hard, a heavy roller will crush large num- 
bers of the nymphs while they are still young, especially 
in the morning and evening. 



* Riley, Bull. 25, 1. 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO TUC GRAINS AN'D GRASSI':S. 



Duelling. — Of the various means devised for trapping 
the n3^mphs "ditching'^ is one of the best, and is of 
especial advantage when the crops become too large for the 
effective nse of other methods. Simple ditches two feet 
wide and two feet deep, with nearly perpendicular sides, 
form effectual barriers to young grasshoppers. The sides 
next to the field to be protected must be kept finely pul- 
verized and not allowed to become washed out or hardened. 
This may be done by a brush composed of dead branches 




Fig. 47. — Simple Coal-oil Pan or Hopperdozer. (After Riley.) 

being hauled through the ditch, which has been dug in a 
strip of finely pulverized soil. The young locusts tumble 
into the ditch, and, failing to climb the steep and slippery 
sides, die there, from their exertions and the heat, in large 
numbers. To avoid too great an accumulation, pits should 
be sunk in the ditch at short intervals, in which most of 
them Avill accumulate, and where they may be easily 
buried. It would seem that grasshoppers would be able 
to leap across such a small obstacle, bnt as a matter of 
fact, like the Chinch-bugs, which might fly across^ they 
very seldom do so. 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



Sjwayijig Ditches. — Prof. Morgan states that *^upon 
river plantations many oj)en ditches are indispensable, and 
when rains are sufficient to keep them filled or partly filled 
with water they serve a most excellent purpose in the 
destruction of the young grassho2:)pers." 

" The experience of spraying ditch-banks soon developed 
the method of damming water in the ditches and covering 
the surface with coal-oil or kerosene emulsion. Before 
and after rains the ditches were dammed and the water 




Fig. 48.— The Price Oil-pan or Plopperdozer. (After Kiley. ) 
covered with a 12 per cent coal-oil emulsion. The young 
grasshoppers were then driven into the ditches, with the 
result that very few, if any, escaped. In this way a single 
aj^plication of oil would last several days, as many millions 
may easily float upon the water of a ditch not more than 
two feet wide. Unless the grasshoppers are scattered too 
far from the ditch-banks no difficulty is experienced in 
getting them to move in the directiun of the oiled water 
on account of the ' homing' instinct.'' 



70 INSECTS INJUKlOL'ri lU Sl'Al'l.E CHOPS. 

Hop per dozer >i. — One of the methods most extensively 
tried Tor the destruction of the n^miphs upon small or 
young crops is by the use of crude kerosene or coal-tar in 
one of the so-called ^' hopperdozers." '^The main idea 
embodied in these contrivances is that of a shallow recep- 
tacle of any convenient size, provided with high back and 
sides, mounted either on wheels or runners. If the pan 
is larger than, say, three feet square, it is provided with 
transverse partitions, v/hich serve to prevent any slopping 
of the contents (in case water and oil are used) when the 
device is subject to any irregular motion. On puphing 
these pans, supplied with oil, over the infested fields, and 
manipulating the shafts or handles so as to elevate or 
depress the front edge of the pan, as may be desired, the 
locusts are startled and spring into the tar or oil, when 
they are either entangled in the tar and die slowly, or, 
coming in contact with the more active portion of the oil, 
expire almost immediately. A good cheap pan is made of 
ordinary sheet iron, eight feet long, eleven inches wide at 
the bottom, and turned up a foot high at the back and 
an inch high in the front. A runner at each end, extend- 
ing some distance behind, and a cord attached to each 
front corner, complete the pan at a cost of about $!l.50 
(Fig. 47). We have known of from seven to ten bushels 
of young locusts caught with one such pan in an afternoon. 
It is easily pulled by two boys, and by running several 
together in a row, one boy to each rope, and one to each 
contiguous pair, the best work is performed with the least 
labor." Larger pans may be drawn by horses. The oil 
is best used on the surface of water, from which the insects 
are removed with a wire strainer. Various modifications 
of this apparatus have been devised, but the more simple 



INSECTS INJUlllOUS TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. 77 

ones seem to be fnlly as effective as those more complicated 
for which fancy prices are charged for royalty. 

Destroying tJie Adults. — The destruction of the winged 
insects is an entirely hopeless task, for, though even large 
numbers are caught, so many will remain that the damage 
done the crops would be but very slightly diminished. 
One of the most promising means for averting the swarms 
of v/inged migratory locusts from alighting in the fields is 
by a dense smudge, in which some foul smelling substances 
are placed. Where strictly attended, and with favorable 
winds, this has often proved highly successful. To 
accomplish the best results farmers over an extensive area 
should combine in its use, 

Tlie South African Fungus. — In 1900 Prof. Morgan 
made a test of a fungous disease which had been found to 
destroy large numbers of grasshoppers in South Africa, 
to determine whether, after starting it by artificial projm- 
gation, it would spread sufficiently to destroy any consider- 
able number of locusts. The weather was favorable, rains 
being frequent. Early in August it was found that " over 
the areas where the liquid infection was spread diseased 
hoppers were abundant." '^^ As many as a dozen dead 
grasshoppers could be found upon a single plant, and some 
upon nearly every weed on ditch-banks where grasshoppers 
were numerous. From the centres of infection great areas 
had become inoculated, spreading even beyond the planta- 
tions first infected.^' The property upon which it was 
placed became thoroughly infected with the fungus. 
Strangely, though many other species of grasshoppers 
were abundant, only the Differential \\^as killed by it. 
Dr. Howard states that this disease has also spread and 
done effective work in Colorado, 



78 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

Poi.soning. — A mash composed of bran, molasses, water, 
and arsenic or Paris green, which has been extensively 
used for cutworms, was found to be quite successful in the 
experiments of Mr. D. W. Coquillet in the San Joaquin 
Valle}^ California, during 1885, for protecting orcliards, 
vineyards, gardens, etc., and might even be of some value 
for grain crops. Two pounds of Paris green, twenty- five 
pounds of bran, barely moistened with water and cheap 
molasses, will be about the correct proportion. It should 
be placed in the fields, a tablespoonful to each plant or 
vine. At this rate the cost per acre of vineyard, including 
labor, will not exceed fifty cents. The 2)oison acts slowly^ 
but if judiciously used will be found very effective, 
especially for the non-migratory forms. In Texas the 
mash has been found satisfactory in destroying the grass- 
hoppers attacking cotton. One planter* writes: "We 
are successfully using arsenic (for grasshoppers) at the 
following rates: 10 pounds of wheat bran, 1^^ gallons 
sorghum molasses, 1 pound arsenic. Make a thick mash, 
sow broadcast on infected ground, and it will surely kill 
them. I used 40 pounds last year and made 49 bales ol 
cotton. My neighbors did not do anything and entirely 
lost their crop." However, Prof. M^organ concluded that 
"the mash cannot be relied upon in severe outbreaks, such 
as occurred in the delta, but may be used in limited attacks 
where the area affected would not warrant the more 
aggressive methods.'' 

* S. D. Harwell, Putnam, Callahan Co., Tex., Bull 30, n. s., 
Div. Ent., U. S. Dept. Agr., p. 06. 



INSECTS IN J bilious TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. 79 

The Army-worm (Leucania unipunda Haworth). 

Almost every year from some portion of this large 
country reports are received of the ravages of armies of 
worms sweeping over the grain-fields, like a horde of 
Vandals. Invariably, also, there has not been a single 
attack in the infested locality for a number of years, so 
that the farmer is at a loss to do anything to protect his 
crops, and by the time information can be received from 
an entomologist a large portion of them will already have 
been destroyed. Thus previous knowledge of the habits 
and remedies for these insects may be of value to him 
when injury by them is threatened. 

Being a sj)ecies native to this country, these worms may 
almost always be found east of the Rockies in low, rank 
growths of grass, which form their habitual breeding- 
grounds. Yet, though the moth is widely distributed, its 
chief injuries have been in belts from eastern Iowa to 
Maine, from northern Texas to northern Alabama, and 
east of the Blue Ridge Mountains to northern North 
Carolina. Even in these regions, however, the worms have 
never been recorded as injurious for tAvo successive years, 
and the only recent wide-spread outbreaks have been in 
1861, 1875, 1880, and 1896, though serious injury is 
almost annually done in restricted localities. Only when 
their usual feeding-places are exhausted, or when through 
favorable climatic conditions or the destruction of large 
numbers of the parasites which hold them in check, they 
increase in abnormal numbers, do they assume the march- 
ing habit and mass in armies. 

Life-Mstory. — In the North there are usually three 
broods each season, and the insects pass the winter as half- 



80 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

grown caterpillars; but in the South there may be as many 
as six broods, and the moths often hibernate over winter, 
layhig eggs early in the S23ring. In the Northern States 
these young worms mature, change to pupa3, and from 
them the adult moths appear early in June, the May 
broods rarely doing serious injury. The female moths 
now lay their small yellowish eggs in rows of from ten to 




Fig. 50 — Army- worm Moth (Leucania unipuncta), pupa, and eggs 
iu natural position in a grass-leaf. Natural size. (After 
Comstock.) 

fifty, inserting theui in the unfolded bases of the grass- 
leaves, and covering them with a thin layer of glue. Over 
seven hundred may be deposited by one female, and thus 
it is that the myriads of young worms appear when they 
hatch in about ten days, and form the destructive army 
of early July. The worms usually feed entirely at night, 
and thus whole fields will often be ruined before they are 
discovered, though a few generally feed during the day, 
as they all do during cloudy weather. The leaves and 
stalks of the grains and grasses form their favorite food, 
the heads usually lacing cut off, but various garden crops 
have frequeutly been seriously injured. As a rule clover 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. 81 

is untouched, but even that is not always exempt. In 
from three to four weeks the worms become mature and 
are then about one and one-half inches long, of a dark-gray 
or dingy-black color, with three narrow, yellowish stripes 
above, and a slightly broader and darker one on each side, 
altogether much resembling catworms, to which they are 
nearly allied. They now enter the earth and there trans- 
form to pnpfe, from which the adult moths come forth in 
about two weeks. These again lay eggs for a brood of 
worms which appear in September, but are rarely very 
injurious. The moths developing from this last brood 
either hibernate over winter or deposit eggs, the larvae 
from which become partially grown before cold weather 
sets in. 

The moths very often fly in windows to lights, and are 
very plain little " millers " The front wings are of a clay 
or faAvn color, specked with black scales, marked with a 
darker shade or stripe at the tips, and a distinct white 
spot at the centre — on account of which they were given 
the specific name unipunda. The hind wings are some- 
what lighter, with blackish veins and darker margins. 

Enemies.— V^QV^ it not for other insects which prey 
upon the worms, the army habit would undoubtedly be 
assumed much more often; but ordinarily these very 
efficiently reduce their number, and Dr. L. 0. Howard 
has recorded two instances in which armies of worms were 
practically destroyed by them. Large numbers are always 
destroyed by the predaceous ground-beetles and their 
larvae, but their most deadly enemies are two small 
Tachina-flies. These lay from half a dozen to fifty eggs 
upon a worm, and the maggots from them enter the body 
of the worm and there absorl) its juices and tissues, thus 



82 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



soon killing it. Ordinarily, when feeding at night, the 
worms are free from these parasites, but when the march- 
ing habit is assumed these little flies swarm around them 
on cloudy days, and before the next year will again have 
the voracious army under subjection. Thus worms with 
eggs upon them should never be destroyed if avoidable. 





Fig. 52. — The Farmer's Friend, the Red-tailed Tachina fly ( Win- 
themi)( 4.-pustul(it((). a, natural size; h, much eohirged; c, army- 
worm on which fly has hiid eggs, natural size; d, same, much 
enlarged. (After Sliugeiland.) 

Remedies. — ^When detected, all efforts shoidd be centred 
on keeping the worms out of crops not yet attacked and 
confining their injury to one point. As a barrier, there 
is nothing better than a steep ditch with the side next to 
the crop to be protected as nearly vertical as possible. In 
the bottom of this dig some deep holes every ten feet, 
Not being able to easily scale the steep wall, the worms 
will look for some easier ascent, and become accumulated 
in large numbers in the holes, where tliey may be destroyed 




Fig. 51. — Arm^'-VNorms at work vn Coiii-plaiit. (After Slingerland.) 



83 



84 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

1)Y kerosene or l)y burning straw on them. S(;vei'al deep 
parallel farrows will act in the same way, and if a series 
are properly made, they will also be found efficient. If it 
be possible to turn w^ater in the ditches, or if they become 
filled by rains, the addition of a little kerosene, so as to form 
a thin scum over the surface, v^'ill soon kill the caterpillars. 
By thoroughly spraying or, perhaps better, dusting a 
small strip of the crop in advance of the worms with Paris 
green, and liberally distributing poisoned bran mash (com- 
posed of fifty pounds of bran and one pound of Paris green 
with about enough molasses and water to sweeten it) large 
numl)ers may be destroyed. But be careful not to pasture 
cattle in a field so poisoned until rain has thoroughly 
washed it. A flock of poultry will also do good service in 
consuming them. Burning stubble, grass land, and 
rubbish is also of considerable importance for this as well 
as all similar insects, But whatever is done to combat the 
Army-worm must be done quickly and at once, for a single 
day's delay may often mean the ruin of a valuable crop. 
Deep fall plowing followed by a thorough harrowing or 
rolling will do much to destroy the hibernating larva3 and 
thus prevent their attack the next season. 

The Fall Army-worm {LajJiyym a frvgiperda S. & A.). 

Descrij^ttion. — Very similar in its destructive habits to 
the true Army-worm is the Fall Army-worm or Grass- 
worm. At first glance the worms have much the same 
general appearance, bat upon close examination consider- 
able difference in the markings is noticeable. Along each 
side of the body is a longitudinal pitch-colored stripe, and 
in the middle — between them — is a yellowish-gray stripe 
about twice as wide, which includes four black dots 



INSECTS TNJUIilOUS TO THE GRAINTS AND GRASSES. S5 

arranged in pairs. These worms assume the habit of 
working in armies', but usually do not feed in such large 
bodies as those of the true Army-worm and are thus even 
more difficult to combat. They appear later in the season, 
the other species rarely being destructive after August 
first, and have thus been termed the Fall Army-worm. 
The Army-woroi proper rarely feeds upon anything but 
grasses and cereals, while the Fall Army-worm feeds upon 
a large variety of cultivated crops, including sugar-beets, 
cow-peas, sweet-potato vines, millet, and many other 
general and truck crops. In Nebraska it has developed a 
peculiar fondness for alfalfa and has there been styled the 
Alfalfa-worm. It is also sometimes very destructive to 
city law^ns, as it was in Chicago during 1899. Indeed, 
that season witnessed an unusual outbreak of this species 
in widely distant localities, it having been exceptionally 
destructive in the Carolinas and Virginia, Illinois, and 
Nebraska, as well as other districts. The insect is more 
of a native of the Southern States, but occurs from Canada 
and Maine south to the Gulf States and west to Colorado 
and Montana. 

Life-history . — The life-history of this insect differs from 
that of the true Army-worm in that it passes the winter 
in the pupal stage. The pupa? are about one-half an inch 
long and may be found in small cells from one-half to one 
and one-quarter inches beneath the surface of the soil. 
The exact time of the emergence of the moths in the 
spring has not been definitely observed, but the first gen- 
eration of worms appears in May or June. The moths 
deposit their eggs on blades of grass, in clusters of 50, 60, 
or more, each mass being covered with mouse-colored 
down from the body of the moth. The eggs hatch in 



insp:cts injurious to staple crops. 



about ten days. The exact time required for the growth 
of the larva or the time occupied in the pupal stage does 
not seem to have been definitely observed. ''Present 
knowledge indicates that the number of generations that 
are normally produced each year is two in the most 
northern range of the species (in years when it develops 
northward), three for central localities like central ar.d 
southern Illinois and the District of Columbia, and prob- 
ably four for the extreme South. We know, however. 




Fig. 53. — Fall Army-worm {Lnphygma frugiperda S. & A.). 1, 2, 
moth; 3, pupa; 4, 5, larva. (After W. D. Hunter.) 

practically nothing of the development of this species in 
the Gulf States."* 

Prof. Morgan states that this insect often makes its 
appearance in damaging numbers in the States around the 
Mississippi Delta, in sections behind the levees immediately 
after an overflow or crevasse. This seems to be largely 
due to the predaceous ground-beetles (see page 36), which 
usually prey upon the army-worms in such numbers as to 

*F. H. Chittenden, "The Fall Army-worm," Bulletin 29, n. s., 
Div. Ent , U. S. Dept. Agr. 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. 87 

hold them in check, being destroyed or carried to other 
places by the rush of water. 

The i)arent moth is very dissimilar from that of the 
Army-worm. It is of a ''general yellowish, ash-gray color, 
with the second pair of wings almost transparent, but with 
a purplish reflection. In extent of wings it measures about 
one and one-quarter inches, and when these are closed the 
length of the insect is about three-quarters of an inch. 
The front wings are mottled or marbled, especially near 
the central area, and usually there is visible a fine white 
line a short distance from the edge and parallel to it. 
The hind wings have a fringe of darker hair as well as 
veins that contrast somewhat with the lighter portion."* 

Remedies. — As before stated, this species is even more 
difficult to combat than the true Army-worm on account 
of the fact that its attacks are scattered over a wider area, 
the individuals being of more solitary habits. The same 
methods of combating it will be found profitable, however, 
and especially that of deep fall plowing and harrowing, 
which in this case will break up the pupal cells and prevent 
the development of the moths. '' In the case of perennial 
crops fall plowing is not practicable. For alfalfa Mr. 
Hunter has recommended that the field should be 
thoroughly ' disked,^ or cultivated with a disk-harrow, 
giving practically the same results as 23lowing other fields. 
For lawns a thorough going over with a long-toothed steel 
rake is the treatment recommended.'^ 

"In fields of young grain and on lawns many of the 
worms may be killed by rolling with a heavy roller, prefer- 
ably when the insects are at work early in the morning or 

* Press Bulletin No. 2, Nebr. Ag. Exp. Sta., "The Fall Array 
Worm." W. D. Hunter. 



88 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

late in the afternoon. In pasture-lands and in fields that 
are injured beyond recovery, sheep or cattle could be 
turned in in numbers with benefit, as they will crush the 
larvae by trampling upon them.^' 

The worms may often be destroyed, when not occurring 
in too large numbers and especially while young, by spray- 
ing the food with Paris green or other arsenicals, and 
when present in only ordinary numbers like cutworms they 
may be killed with poisoned bran mash as advised for the 
latter on page 217. 

" Lawns can be freed from the insects by the application 
of kerosene emulsion, followed with as copious a drench- 
ing of water as possible from a hose. This remedy should 
not be employed in bright sunlight or on a hot day, but 
preferably toward sundown." 

When the worms occur in armies they may be combated 
in the same way as the true Army-worm. 

But too much emphasis cannot be placed upon the im- 
portance of cleaji cultural iiiethocls and the rotation of crops 
in the control of both this and the true Army-worm. 
This has been well expressed by Mr. Chittenden (1. c.) as 
follows : " Rotation of crops should always be practiced, as 
well as the burning over of fields in the fall, when they 
are too badly infested to recover from injury. Above all 
other precautions which it is necessary to take to secure 
immunity from attack is that of keeping the fields free 
from volunteer grain and wild grasses, since experience 
shows that these are the favorite breeding-grounds of the 
insect; in other words, they attract the female moths for 
the deposition of their eggs, and when the larvae hatching 
from these eggs have devoured the grain and grasses which 
grow in batches they are driven to cultivated fields for 



INSECrS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAINS AND GRASSES. 89 

food. One of the most important sources of injury is the 
rotation of one cereal crop with another or with grasses, 
and the planting of crops in fields that have been allowed 
to run waste to wild grasses and weeds. As grasses and 
cereals are the crops most affected by the Fall Army- worm, 
the soil should always be very thoroughly plowed before 
planting to any crop, particularly a similar one, and it is 
inadvisable (not alone on account of the Fall Army-worm, 
but on account of the numerous other common cutworms, 
wireworms, and white grubs) to j)lant wheat, corn, or any 
other cereal in pasture-land unless a crop which is not so 
subject to infestation by this insect intervenes." 



CHAPTER VI. 

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO WHEAT. 
INJURING THE ROOTS. 

Meadow-maggots or Leather-jackets {TipulidcB). 

Several instances have been recorded in which serious 
injury has been done to wheat,, clover, timothy, and Wue 
grass by the larva? of Crane-flies. These insects are never 
so injurious in this country as in Europe, where they are 
known as " Daddy-long-legs,^' the common name of our 
harvest-spiders, though doubtless injury done by them is 
often attributed to other insects. The farmer usually 
declares the work to be that of wireworms or cutworms, 
the adults often being known as '' cutworm-flies," unless 
the maggots are so abundant as to attract his attention. 
When the maggots are abundant enough to do much 
injury, they usually occur in very large numbers, but 
ordinarily, though common everywhere, they occur in such 
small numbers as to escape notice. 

Several species {Tipula hicornis Loew, T. cost alls Say, 
and PachyrrJiinis sp.?) have at various times done con- 
siderable damage in localities in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
and elsewhere. 

Life-history. — So far as studied, the life-histories of 
these species seem to be much the same. The larvae 

90 



IX SECTS INJURIOUS TO WHEAT 



91 



remain dormant over winter, but evidently commence 
feeding again very early in the spring, a wheat-field havino- 
shown the effects of their injuries from February first to 




Fig. 54.— a Crane-fly {Tipula hebes Loew). a, larva: h puna- r 
male adult. (After Weed.) ' i p . , 

April first. The hxrva? become full-grown from the latter 
part of April until the middle of May, depending upon 
the species and season. The full-grown maggots are about 
an inch long, of a dirty-grayish color, and of a tough 



93 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CliOl'S, 

leathery texture. They are nearly cylindrical, somewhat 
tapering in front and terminating bluntly behind. Legs 
are entirely wanting, but at the blunt end are a few fleshy 
processes and a pair of small, horny hooks. The larvae 
seem to prefer low, moist ground, and will live for some 
time on land entirely flooded or in a ditch. They feed 
very largely on dead vegetable matter, but when excessively 
abundant they attack the roots of wheat, grass, and clover, 
so weakening them near the surface that the plants, 
deprived of proper nourishment, are killed and loosened 
from the ground. 

Pup^ may be found during the latter part of May, 
occupying small cells near the surface of the soil in a 
vertical position. Prior to emerging the adult pushes 
from one-half to two-thirds of the body above the surface 
and remains in this pose for several hours. The males 
usually emerge first, as their assistance is required by the 
females, which are loaded down with eggs, to extricate 
themselves from the pupal skins. The sexes pair imme- 
diately, there being many more males than females — one 
observer states one hundred to one — and the females 
deposit their eggs upon grass and clover lands, to the 
number of three hundred each. Eggs are laid for another 
brood in Sejotember, the maggots from which live over 
winter. 

Remedies. — Injury to wheat land may be Lirgely pre- 
vented by plowing early in September. 

No satisfactory remedy for the maggots is known when 
injuring clover, timothy, or grass, although large numbers 
have been known to be destroyed by driving a flock of 
sheep over infested land. Dr. S. A. Forbes states that 
' ' close trampling of the earth by the slow passage of a 



INSECTS IXJL'KIUUS TO WHEAT. 93 

drove of pigs would doubtless answer the same purpose, 
which is that of destroying the larvae lying free upon the 
surface or barely embedded among the roots of the grass." 
Several of our common birds feed upon the maggots 
and flies as well as a number of ground-beetles. The 
maggots are also sometimes attacked by a fungous disease 
which in tlie damp soil in which they live would doubtless 
grow and spread rapidly. Altogether these different 
enemies keep them so well in check that they rarely 
become of importance. 

Wheat Joint-worms {Isosoma spp.). 

Injury. — During midsummer, shortly before harvest, 
many of the ripening ears of wheat are seen to topple over 
and fall to the ground, owing to the breaking of the stalk, 
which has been weakened at one of the joints. Upon 
examination several small gall-like cavities will be found 
fractured at the broken joint, and at other joints will be 
found small round holes leading to some of these empty 
cells. Xow and then one will be found occupied by a 
small larva or pupa, the cause of all the mischief. Very 
often this injury becomes quite serious, affecting the crop 
much as does that of the Hessian Fly, though late in the 
season, and is often mistaken for the w^ork of that species. 
The Joint-worms, however, are larv^ of small hymen- 
opterous insects which were at first supposed to be parasitic 
upon the Hessian Fly, as they belong to a family, the 
ClialcididcB, most of the members of which are parasites 
of other insects. They differ from the flies in having 
four wings instead of two, and in many other structural 
points, as shown by the illustration, belonging to the same 
order as the bees, ants, and wasps. 



94 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CliOPS. 



Two species are commonly injurious, the Wheat Joint- 
worm {Iso.soDia tritici Fitch) and another species of the 
same genus, more popuhirly known as the Wheat Straw- 
worm {hosoma grande Riley). The adults of 1. tritici are 
small black flies from an eighth to three -sixteenths of an 
inch in length, and with wings expanding about one fourth 
of an inch. The larvae are yellowish-white with the tips 
of the jaws brown, of about the same length as the fly, and 
of the form shown in the figure. 

Life-history, — The larvae of /. grande are much the 
same; but while the former species has but a single brood 
each season, this is double-brooded. The summer brood 



m 



I 




Fig. 55.—*^/, Wheat -straw affected by Joint- worm; h, adult as seen 
from above. (After Riley.) 



is similar to that of tritici, but the spring brood is peculiar 
in that the females are much smaller and almost wingless, 
so that the pest is spread only by the later brood. The 
larvae of tritici hibernate over winter in the wheat-stubble, 
coming to maturity in June, and the next brood feeds 
upon volunteer wheat and the fall planting. /. grande, 
however, passes the winter in the pupal state, also in the 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO WHEAT. 



95 



stubble. From them the wingless females emerge in early 
spring and j^hice their eggs npon the young wheat, usually 
on or near the growing head. These become mature in 
June, and from them the winged females develop. Singu- 
larly, there are no males in this brood, they appearing only 
in the spring, while in the summer brood the females are 
so large and robust that they were at first mistaken for a 




Fig. 56. — Adult of Joint-worm {Isosoimi trltiei Harr.). a, female; 
h, male; c, d, antennae of same; e, f, abdomens of same. 
(After Kiley.) 

separate species. ^' These deposit their eggs in or near 
the joints of the straw, more frequently the second below 
the head," becoming full-grown by fall, and ])assing the 
winter in the stubble as 2)upa3. The two species may also 
be separated by their manner of injuring the straw. The 
Joint-worm {tritici) makes more or less apparent galls in 
the walls of the culm, while the Straw-worm {gr ancle) 
forms no galls and but fewer individuals infest a straw. 

Owing to their small size and retiring habits these little 
parasites of the wheat-plant — and they also infest barley 



96 



INSECTS INJUIilUUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



and rye — are not often observed, or tlieir injnries are 
charL>-ed against the Hessian Fly, and not nntil they do 




Fig. 57. — Wheat straw Worm {Isosomn gr.mde Riley\ a, ventral 
view; 6, .side view of larva; c, aiitenua3; d, mandible; e, anal 
segment, ventral view;/, adult female; g, forewing; h, hind- 
wing; i, aborted wing. (After Kiley.) 




Fig. 5S.—Isoso7n(i givmde. Female of summer brood. (After Riley.) 



unusual and severe injury is the difference in the method 
of their attack from that of the " fly " noticed. 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO WHEAT. 97 

Remedies. — Owing to the fact that the Straw-worin is 
spread only by the summer brood, a simple rotation of the 
crop will keep them largely under control. However, as 
both species pass the winter in the stubble, most of them 
may be killed by burning the stubble in fall and winter. 

The Wheat Saw-fly Borer {Ceplius injgmcmLS Linn.). 

The " Corn Saw-fly" has been a well-known wheat-pest 
for many years throughout England, France, and the 
Continent, but was not noted as injurious in this country 
till 1889, when Prof. J. H. Comstock published * a very 
complete account of its injuries upon the University Farm 
at Ithaca, N. Y., where it had done more or less damage 
for two years, though Mr. F. H. Chittenden states that 
he collected a single adult at Ithaca in the early ^80's. 
Specimens were also collected at Ottawa, Canada, and 
Buffalo, N. Y., in 1887 and 1888, these being the only 
other references to its occurrence in this country. 

The following is gleaned from Prof. Comstock's interest- 
ing account. 

Injury. — No external indications of injury to the plant 
can be seen until the larva within has almost completely 
tunneled the stalk, at which time there is a discoloration 
just below the injured joints. Thus damage by this 
insect is not readily noticed, it merely dwarfing and stunt- 
ing the growth of the plant by boring in the stem. 

'^If infested straws be examined a week or ten days 
before the ripening of the wheat, the cause of this injury 
can be found at work within them. It is at that time a 
yellowish, milky-white worm, varying in size from one-fifth 

* Bulletin 11, Cornell Univ. Ag. Exp. Station. 



98 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



to one-half an inch in length. The smaller ones may not 
have bored through a single joint ; while the larger ones 
will have tunneled all of them, except, perhaps, the one 
next to the ground. 

Life-history. — '^As the grain becomes ripe the larva 
works its way toward the ground; and at the time of 




Fig. 59. — The Wheat Saw-fly Borer [CepMis pygm(fus Linn.), a, 
outline of larva, natural size; b, larva, enlarged; c, larva in 
wheat stalk, natural size; d, frass; e, adult female;/, Paehyo- 
nerus calcitr<itor, female, a parasite— enlarged. (After Curtis, 
from "Insect Life.") 

harvest the greater number of them have penetrated the 
root. Here, in the lowest part of the cavity of the straw, 
they make preparations for passing the winter, and even 
for their escape from the straw the following year. This 
is done by cutting the straw circularly on the inside, 
nearly severing it a short distance, varying from one-half 
to one inch, from the ground. If the wheat were growing 
wild, the winter winds would cause the stalk to break at 





Fig. 60. — The Wheat Saw-fly {Cephus pi/gnueus). a, female beginning to oviposit; b, 
female with ovipositor inserted in strav/; c, insect with wings expanded; d, straws 
cut by larvag; e, larva in cell at base of straw. (After Comstock. ) 

[lo face page 9S.] 



INSECTS INJQRIOUS TO WUEAT. 99 

this point; and thus the insect after it had reached tlie 
adult state could easily escape; while but for this cut it 
would be Yery liable to be imprisoned in the straw/' 
Ordinarily, the straw is cut by the reaper before it becomes 
broken; but a strong wind just before harvest will cause 
a large number of stalks to become broken, much as if 
affected by the Hessian Fly. 

'^ After the circular cut has been made, the larva fills 
the cavity of the straw just below it for a short distance 
with a plug of borings. Between this plug and the lower 
end of the cavity of the straw there is a place about one- 
half an inch in length. It is here that the insect passes 
the winter.^' This cell is lined with silk so as to form a 
warm cocoon. Here the larva passes the winter and 
changes to a pupa in March or April. The adult insect 
emerges early in May. The adults are four-winged insects, 
and are popularly known as Saw-flies on account of the 
saw-like ovipositor of the female, by means of which she 
inserts her eggs in the tissue of the plant. This species is 
quite different in some respects from the saw-flies feeding 
upon the leaves of wheat, and belongs to the family 
CephidcB. 

The female commences to lay eggs by the middle of 
May. By means of her sharp ovipositor she makes a very 
small slit any i:)lace in the stalk of the plant and in this 
thrusts a small white Qgg — about one one-hundredth of an 
inch long — which is pushed clear through the walls of the 
straw and left adhering to the inside. Though several 
eggs are deposited in a straw, but one larva usually 
develops. '^ The eggs hatch soon after they are laid, and 
the larva? may develop quite rapidly. A larva which 
hatched from an ^,g'y laid ^lay 13th was found to have 
L.ofC. 



loo INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

tunneled the entire length of the stalk in which it was " 
on May 28th. 

Remedies. — " The most obvious method of combating 
the insect is to attack it while it is in the stubble; that is, 
some time between harvest and the following May. If the 
stubble can be burned in the autumn, the larvae in it can 
be destroyed. The same thing could be accomplished by 
plowing the stubble under, which would prevent the escape 
of the adult flies. But as it is (often) customary . . . to sow 
grass-seed with wheat, it is feared that the plowing under 
of infested stubble would rarely be practicable; and it is 
also questionable if the burning of the stubble could be 
thoroughly done without destroying the young grass. It 
would seem probable, therefore, that if this insect becomes 
a very serious pest, it will be necessary . . . either to sow 
grass-seed with oats and burn or plow under all the wheat- 
stiibble, or to suspend growing wheat for one year, in order 
to destroy the insects by starvation." 

The Hessian Fly {Cccidomyia destructor Say). 
Of the injurious insects peculiar to the wheat-plant the 
Hessian Fly is undoubtedly the most widely distributed 
and most destructive. Very often it is responsible for the 
loss of from one-fourth to one-half of the crop; and one- 
tenth of the whole yield, or from 55 to G5 million bushels, 
is estimated to represent the amount lost by its annual 
ravages. Excessive injury by this as by most other insects 
comes periodically. Thus ^'Hessian Fly years'' have 
occurred in New York in 1779, 1817, 1844, 1845, 1846, 
and 1877, and in the three last years commencing with 
1899. In 184G it has been ''estimated that the loss from 
the pest in western New York was not less than 500,000 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO WHEAT. lOl 

bushels." Professors Roberts, Slingerland, and Stone (1. c.) 
state that the destruction during the past three seasons 
has been the most severe ever experienced in New York, 
conservatively estimating the loss in 1901 at 3,500,000 
bushels of wheat, valued at about $.3,000,000. Injury has 
also been wide-spread and severe in Ohio, Michigan, and 
neighboring States during the past few seasons, owing to 
peculiar climatic conditions. In 1900 Prof. F. M. 
Webster stated that a loss of about 60 per cent of the 
wheat crop in Ohio, amounting to 24,000,000 bushels and 
valued, at the market-rate, at $16,800,000, was due to 
injury by this pest. 

History. — Having been first noticed as injurious on Long 
Island, in 1779, near where the Hessian troops had landed 
three years before, it seems altogether probable that it was 
brought to this country by them, and it has therefore 
been so named. Rapidly spreading over all the wheat 
land in the East, it appeared in California in 1884, was 
reported as injurious in England in 1886, and in 1888 was 
found to be destructive in New Zealand. 

Description and Life-history. — The adult flies are little, 
dark-colored gnats, about one-eighth of an inch long, but 
these are less often seen than the immature stages. Each 
of the females lays from one hundred to one hundred and 
fifty minute reddish eggs, placing them in irregular rows 
of from three to five, generally upon the upper surface 
of the leaf, but in the spring often beneath the sheath 
of the leaf. In a few daj^s these hatch into small, 
reddish maggots, which soon turn white, are cylindrical, 
about twice as long as broad, and have no true head or 
legs. The fall brood of maggots burrow beneath the 
sheath of the leaf and its base, which is still below the 



105 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



ground, causing a sliglit enlargement at the point of 
attack ; but in the spring they usually stop at one of the 
lower joints above the surface, in both instances becoming 
fixed in the plant and weakening it by absorbing its sap 
and tissues. 




Fig. 61. — The Hessian Fly and its various stages of development. 
a, an ^^^\ h, larva or worm; c, flaxseed; d, pupa; e, adult, lay- 
ing eggs; /, female; g, male; 7i, stalk of wheat showing attack; 
i, natural enemy or parasite — all enlarged except wheat-stem 
and fig. e. (After Riley, Burgess, and Trouvelot, from U. S. 
Dept. Agr.). 

This difference in method of attack results in a corre- 
sponding effect on the plant. The first indication of the 
work of the maggots in the fall is the tendency of the 
plants to stool out ; the dark color of the leaves, which are 
somewhat broader, and the absence of the central stems 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO WHEAT. 103 

also reveal their presence. Later, many of the plants may 
be observed to turn yellow and die. The spring maggots 
attack the laterals, or tillers, which have escaped the 
previous brood, so weakening them that the stems break 
and fall before ripening, and cannot be readily harvested. 

In about four weeks the maggots become full-grown, 
and are then light greenish white and about three-sixteenths 
of an inch long. The skin now turns brown, shrivels 
slightly, and inside of it is formed the new stage, called 
the pupa. This outside case, composed of the cast larval 
skin, is known as the puparium, and this stage is generally 
called the " flax-seed '' stage from the close resemblance to 
that seed. In this stage the fall brood passes the winter, 
the flies emerging in April or May, while the spring brood 
so remains during midsummer, and emerges during Sep- 
tember. Besides the above, there are often two supple- 
mental broods, one following the spring brood, and the 
other preceding that of the fall, 

Enemies. — Several parasites arc of great value in hold- 
ing the numbers of the fly in check, but as yet no method 
is known whereby they mry be artificially encouraged. 
Attempts to import foreign parasites have not, as yet, been 
permanently successful. It is owing to these parasites 
being destroyed by unfavorable weather conditions that 
the fly becomes excessively abundant. 

Preventives. — Owing to the wide distribution of this pest, 
and the corresponding variation of latitude and altitude, 
it is evident that the time of its appearance will vary con- 
siderably, and any preventive measures must be based upon 
a previous determination of the time of appearance of the 
broods for any given locality. Rec-ently it has been shown 
that weather conditions largely determine the time of 



104 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLR CROPS. 



appearance of the fall brood, a season of drouolit in carlv 
September retardino- the emergence of the flies until rain 
falls. Professors Eoberts and Slingerland state that "a 




mild October and November often emphasizes the fly's 
destructiveness. A damp spring-, even though a cold one, 
is also favorable to the development of the insect. On the 
contrary, dry hot summers are unfavorable, and often 



INSECTS INJUIlIOUS TO WHEAT. 105 

cause a serious mortality to the earlier stages of the fall 
brood of adults; and a rainless August often retards the 
emergence of the flies until even our latest-sown wheat (in 
New York) is up and ready to receive their eggs. Just such 
weather conditions occurred in New York in 1900 and, we 
believe, were largely responsible for the fact that in many 
cases late-sown fields were as badly infested as those sown 
earlier." If there be a normal rainfall in August, the flies 
will emerge as usual early in September and will lay their 
eggs on volunteer, early-sown, and trap strips of wdieat, 
and late sowings will largely escape. 

Dr. A. D. Hopkins has recently w^orked out a most 
valuable law governing the time of appearance of this pest, 
and from which he has deduced a rule for "the approxi- 
mate determination of normal dates for the ending of the 
fall sw^arm of the Hessian Fly in any locality " in West 
Virginia. "Take a known normal date of a place, of 
known latitude and altitude, correct this date to a corre- 
sponding date at sea-level, by adding one day to each one 
hundred feet of altitude above sea-level; then for any place 
north of this sea-level base subtract one day for each one- 
fourth degree of latitude and one day for each one hundred 
feet of altitude at the place to be determined, and for all 
points south add one day for each one-fourth degree of 
latitude and subtract from the result, as before, one day 
for each one hundred feet of altitude. The resulting date 
will be the approximate normal. 

"To give an example of this method of determining 
normals, and to demonstrate its value, we will take, as the 
most important and reliable data, the results obtained by 
Prof. Webster, by actual exj^eriments and observations, at 
Columbus and Wooster, Ohio. He found that the normal 



106 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

diitc for the ending of the fjill period of active flight or 
swarming of the fly at Colnmbns, latitude 40 degrees, was 
September 25th, and that the corresponding date for 
Wooster, latitude 40 degrees and 49 minutes, was Septem- 
ber 20th, which he states agrees ahnost exactly with results 
obtained in Indiana, and forms the base of conclusions, as 
set forth in his Bulletin No. 107." Columbus is 800 and 
Wooster 1000 feet above sea-level. By applying the above 
rule and computing the date of Wooster from that of 
Columbus, or vice versa, the same dates will be secured as 
those determined by Prof. Webster. 

Of the various farm methods of control the most im- 
portant is the late planting of winter wheat through the 
Central States. In the latitnde and altitnde of northern 
Ohio if this be done after September 12th the flies will all 
have laid their eggs before the plants sprout. The time 
of planting should be later the further south, bnt no arbi- 
trary dates can be given for the whole conntry, as those 
must be determined by altitude, latitude, and local condi- 
tions. Thus in extreme sonthern Ohio October 10th is 
stated to be a safe time, while in central Maryland, in the 
same latitude, wheat may commence to be sown between 
September 25th and October 5th. In northern Delaware 
farmers prefer not to sow until October 1st. Prof. Roberts 
states that though no definite dates can be given owing to 
injury being most serious after abnormal weather condi • 
tions, after which the dates would be different, yet that 
''^New York wheat-growers have learned that wheat sown 
after the 20th to the 25th of September is usually much 
less infested. In Ohio and Michigan, as elsewhere, it has 
been found that wheat sown very early, i.e , about Sep- 
tember 1st, and late, i.e., after October 1st, is but slightly 



INSECTS INJUlilOUS TO WHEAT. 107 

injured, while that phiiited during the middle of Septem- 
ber is largely or wholly destroyed. 

Fig. 63 shows the proper dates for planting in Ohio as 
given by Prof. Webster. Various State experiment stations 
have issned bulletins giving the proper time to plant in 
those States, and should the rule given by Dr. Hopkins 
prove to be applicable throughout the country, the j)robleni 
of when to plant will be easily solved.* 

Inasmuch as most of the spring brood remain in the 
stubble in the flaxseed stage after harvest, if the fields be 
then burned over, large numbers will be destroyed, but 
often this is impossible owing to the practice of seeding 
wheat land to grass and clover, which is quite a common 
practice in many sections. By the destruction of all 
volunteer wheat the two supplementary broods may be 
reduced, and in the extreme North, where this is the 
principal means of carrying the insect over winter and 
spring wheat is grown, this will be found of considerable 
importance. 

By planting a few strips of Avheat late in August or in 
the first week of September many of the flies will be 
decoyed into laying their eggs upon them, and by then 
jdowing under these strips the eggs and larv^ may be 
destroyed and the regular sowing thus jirotected. The 
trap strips should not be allowed to stand over about 

*See W. Ya. Agr. Exp. Station, Bullet in Xo. 67: The Hessian 
Fly in W. Va., A. D. Hopkins. Ohio Agr. Exp. Sta., Bulletins 
Nos. 107, 119 : F. 31. \yebster. Md. Agr. Exp. Sta., Bulletin Xo. 
58: W. G. Johnson. U. S. Dept. Agr., Div. Ent., n. s. : The 
Hessian Fly in the United States, Herbert Osborn. Cornell 
University Agr. Exp. Sta., Bulletin 194: The Hessian Fly, 1. P. 
Roberts, M. V. Sliugerland, and J. L. Stone. 



108 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



■— T 



, -- LUCAS 

S! "^ULTON r ^■^— foTTA 



Scpffio 



— I 

! 1899 I 

L-— J 



-Jiz; 






\ CUYAHOGA '■GEAUGA 



[_DE_r,ANCE j "^'^''^ I WOOD I SANDUSKY \__^2'L 



.4 LORAIN J_ 



"I SENECA 



SeptU5_p! ! 

HURON j j MEDINA 



1 --^^rr^:..... isuMM,r°^^^^^!— — i 



j JTRUMEULLj 
J |MAHOMNGi 



JCRAWFORD JASHLANOI 

T! IfilCHLANIX, : 



j ■ STARK I ' ' I 

WAYNE : Sept. 28, 'iCOLbWEIANAj 



1 \ ALLEN L ^_J !_Sepi.5?p J 1899 .-^-j 1 

r \ -—^ HARDIN r J C' T I [ -l-.^i 

SmERCER 1 r 1 1 ' ' i_CARROLL_; V\ 

MEHCEKI ^^jgL^,^^ ] MARION |' ^—\ HOLMES \ ^ ■ \ 



\ 1 "\' ■"! .-'morrow; 

: I ; ' ^ — -L xno 

ij"' LOGAN r \ - 

I SHELBY UNION I 



I 1. 



! CHAMPAIGN ! 1— 






L_ 



I ' , ! CLARKE / « {FRANKLIN^ i;MUbKINGUM'-, , 



3le1 ''°'^^- ! ^"""■^-r^"/ 



PICKAWAY 
GREENE I i Oct. 1, 

TEJ 1899 



«*^i!'l?»„!. 



ORGAN LI'^-J'l 





Fig. 6B.— Map indicating, in bold faced type, the approximate dates 
immediately after which it is usually safe to sow wheat in the 
fall, in various sections of Ohio, in order to avoid the autumn 
attack of Hessian fly. Dates given in small type show when 
wheat sown in the fall of 1899 escaped the fall attack, though 
it was in many cases totally destroj^ed by the spring attack. The 
difference between these dates is the variation from the normal, 
and where no dates are given between the cross-lines there was 
no such variation. (After Webster.) 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO WHEAT. 109 

four weeks, or three or four days after the main crop is 
sown. 

Though none are exempt from attack, those varieties of 
wheat ^Mvith large, coarse, strong straw are less liable to 
injury than weak-strawecl and slow-growing varieties/^ 
In Xew York in many localities in 1901 a wheat called 
Dawson^s Golden Chaff was found to be but little injured, 
where others were nearly destroyed. However, in Canada, 
where this variety originated, it is as seriously injured as 
other kinds, and may become so in N"ew York. Bearded 
Red Wheat No. 8 was also found to be a very resistaut 
variety, as were Prosperity, Democrat, lied Eusisan, and 
AVhite Chaff Mediterranean. It should be remembered, 
however, that none of these are invariably " fly-proof," 
and that though under certain conditions they maybe but 
little injured, in other localities and under less favorable 
circumstances they may be injured as much as any other 
sorts. 

Among other conclusions Prof. Roberts and his col- 
leagues state that the fly '-injures wheat more on dryish 
and 230or land than on moist but well-drained, rich soils." 
Also, '"that the soil must be so well fitted and so fertile 
that a strong, healthy growth will be secured in the fall, 
though the sowing of the seed be delayed ten to fifteen 
days beyond the usual time. Such preparation of the soil 
will also help the wheat to recover from any winter injury. 
Thick seeding and vigorous growth also tend to ward off 
the fly." '' Much stress should be laid on the proper 
fitting of the land for wheat. Plowing should be done 
early — at least six weeks before sowing — to give abundant 
time for the repeated working of the soil in order to 
recompact the subsurface soil and secure a fine but 



110 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

shallow seed-bed in which there has been developed, ])y 
tillage and the action of the atmosphere, an abundance of 
readily available plant-food. Manures and fertilizers should 
be kept near the surface and the young roots encouraged 
to spread out on the surface soil, thus avoiding much of 
the damage by heaving in winter and leaving the deeper 
soil for fresh pasturage for the plants during the following 
spring and summer." 

Prof. Webster strongly recommends the rotation of the 
wheat-crop, sowing it as far from where it was grown the 
previous year as possible. Where this has been judiciously 
done, individual farms have often remained free from 
serious attack when neighboring ones were badly injured. 

Remedies. — After injury by the fly has once become 
apparent in the fall, there is no application known by 
which it may be destroyed. The application of a liberal 
amount of fertilizer to land not already well fertilized will 
enable the plants to better withstand the injury and possi- 
bly outgrow it. Pasturing sheep on early-sown fields 
would doubtless result in crushing many of the flaxseeds 
and larvffi, and give the ground that compact, pulverized 
nature wliich it should have. 

Nothing is known as a remedy for injury by the spring 
brood. 

In summarizing his knowledge of means of controlling 
this pest. Prof. F. M. Webster, who is probably our best 
authority upon it, says : ^* After thirteen [now fifteen] years 
of study of the Hessian Fly^ I am satisfied that four-fi ft/is 
of its injuries may he 2)revenfecl hy a hetter system of agri- 
culture. For years I have seen wheat grown on one side 
of a division-fence without the loss of a bushel by attack 
of this pest, while on the other side the crop was invariably 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO WHEAT. UL 

always more or less injured. Xo effect of climate, 
meteorological conditions, or natural enemies could have 
brought about such a contrast of results. The whole 
secret was in the management of the soil and the seeding." 

Some Wheat-maggots. 

Very similar in its mode of injuring the wheat-stalk to 
the Hessian Fly is the Wheat Stem-maggot [Meromyza 
americana Fitch). The aduJt flies were first described by 
Dr. Fitch in 1856, though the work of the maggots had 
probably been noticed as early as 1821 by James Worth of 
Bucks County, Pa., and by the Michigan Farmer in 
Michigan about 1845. 

Extending from Dakota and Manitoba to Texas, the 
range of this insect practically covers all the eastern 
United States and southern Canada. 

Unlike the Hessian Fly it feeds and breeds upon wild 
grasses and is thus much more difficult to control. Prof. 
A. J. Cook found the larva3 in both barley and oats in 
Michigan, Prof. Webster reared an adult from Blue Grass 
{Poa pratensis), and Dr. Jas. Fletcher records it as breed- 
ing in Agropyrum, Descltampsis, Elynius, Poa, and 
Setaria viridis in Canada. 

Life-history. — Like the Hessian Fly the adult flies lay 
their eggs on fall wheat in September and October, and 
the young maggots when hatched work their way down 
into the stem, either cutting it off or causing it to discolor 
or die. The eggs are about one-fortieth of an inch long 
and of a glistening white color. The larvae are a light 
greenish color, about one-fourth of an inch long, tapering 
towards the terminal end while subcylindrical posteriorly, 
being quite elongate. The pupai are the same color as the 



112 INSECTS INJUKIOUS TO STAPLK CROPS. 

Iarva3, but more rounded, being only one-sixth of an inch 
long, and reveal the legs and wing-cases of the imago 
forming within them. The external case of the pupa, 
called the puparium, is merely the shrunken and hardened 
cast skin of the last larval stage, within which the insect 




Fig. 64.— Wheat Bulb-worm {Meromyza americnna) a, mature fly; 
h, larva; c, puparium; d, Infested wheat-stem — all enlarged ex- 
cept d. (After Marlatt, U. 8. Dept. Agr.) 

transforms to the pupa. The fly is about one-fifth of an 
inch long. It is of a yellowish-white color with a black 
spot on the top of the head, three broad black stripes on 
the thorax, and three on the abdomen, which are often 
intermitted at the sutures, so that they form distinct spots. 
The eyes are a bright green. 

The winter is passed by the larva? in the young plants, 
and in spring tliey transform to pupa3 and adult flies. 
These in turn deposit eggs in such a position tliat the 
maggots isvsuing from them may readily feed upon the 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO WHEAT. 113 

succulent portions of the growing stalk. Numerous larva3 
thus sapping the life of the plant soon kill it outright or 
cause the top and head to wither and die. The adults of 
this brood emerge in July and lay eggs on volunteer wheat 
and grasses, the maggots working in the same manner as 
in the fall and coming to maturity so that another brood 
of flies lay eggs for the fall brood on the newly planted 
wheat. 

Owing to the fact that this insect breeds also in grasses 
during late summer it is much more difficult to combat 
than were it confined to wheat as its food-plant, as is the 
Hessian Fly. 

lie)}iedies. — '' If the grain is stacked or threshed and the 
straw stacked or burned,^' says Prof. Webster, "it is clear 
that the number escaping would be greatly reduced,^' for, 
as the adults emerge soon after harvest, they would escape 
to deposit their eggs were the straw left in the fields, but 
"it is not likely that those in the centre of the stacks 
would be able to make their way out, and the threshing- 
machine Vv'ould destroy many more. How much could be 
accomplished by late sowing of grain is uncertain, as the 
females are known to occur abundantly uj) to October. 
If plots of grain were sowed immediately after harvest in 
the vicinity of the stacks, many of the females could, no 
doubt, be induced to deposit their eggs therein, and these 
could be destroyed by plowing under. ^' Burning of the 
stubble will also aid in keeping this pest under control. 

There are several undetermined species of flies belong- 
ing to the genus Osciuis, and very closely resembling the 
common house-fly in miniature, being about one-fourth as 
large, which have practically the same life-history as the 
Wheat Stem-maggot and injure the wheat in tlie same 



114 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



manner. They will not need consideration by the prac- 
tical farmer other than in applying methods of control as 
already given. One species of this genns, determined by 
Prof. H. Garman as Oscinis variabilis Loew and christ- 
ened the American Frit-fly, has been found common in 
Kentucky and Canada, but is so nearly identical in 






Fig. 65. — The American Frit-fly (Oscinis rxiriahilis Loew). a, 
larva or maggot; 6, piiparium; c, adult fly. (After Garman.) 

appearance and habit in the larval stage that it can with 
difficulty be distinguished from the Stem-maggot. 

That these pests do not do more injury is probably due 
to a considerable extent to the fact that large numbers of 
them are destroyed by a small hymenopterous parasite, 
known as Ccelimis meromyzce Forbes, which very commonly 
infests the larvge, and by other parasites and j^redaceous 
insects. 

Rarely will these pests do serious danuige, but very often 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO WHEAT. 115 

it is sufficient to merit cousideration, and only a knowledge 
of their life- history can give a key to their successful 
control. 

INJURING THE LEAVES AND HEAD. 

The Wheat-louse {Nectaropliora avenm Fab.). 

History and Distribution. — At comj^aratively long inter- 
vals the wheat crop is extensively injured by the Wheat- 
louse or Grain-aphis. In 1861 and 1862 serious damage 
was done throughout New York and New England, which 
seems to have been the first serious outbreak of the pest 
in this country, it being a native of England. Since then 
the crop of 1889 throughout Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, 
Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan was the worst damaged, 
sometimes to the extent of 60 per cent. The following 
year the lice appeared on the eastern shore of Maryland in 
large numbers, causing a total failure of the crop in some 
sections, and in 1894 they did serious damage in Washing- 
ton and northern Idaho, where they had been known for 
some years. Though no record of its distribution is to be 
found, it would seem probable from the above that the 
Wheat-louse occurs throughout the northern half of the 
United States, as no mention of its occurrence in the South 
is found. 

Like many ajohids it rarely becomes excessively injurious, 
being usually held in check by internal parasites, pre- 
daceous insects, diseases, and weather conditions. Just 
how far the weather is directly responsible for their 
increase or decrease is unknown; but it has been observed 
that an outbreak is usually jireceded by several dry seasons, 
and that cold, dam^^ weather during late spring and early 
summer seems to favor their development. Parasitic 



116 



INSECTS INJUUIOUS TO STAPLE CliOPS. 



fungous diseases — mostly of the genus Enipusa — are one 
of the most important checks to the multiplication of 
plant-lice, and, as they require wet weather for their best 




Fig. 66. — Wbeut-lou.se Parasite {Aphidius granariaphis Cook), and 
parasitized louse from which it has issued. (Copied from 
J. B. Smith.) 




Fig. 67. — The Wheatlouse (Nectaro'phorn amnm Fab.). Wingless 
and winged forms. (After Garman.) 

development, it is not surprising that several dry seasons 

should precede an abundance of lice. Prof. F. M. Webster 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO WHEAT. 117 

thinks that cold, wet weather in May and June is favor- 
able to the lice, in that it retards the development of their 
parasites. 

Description and Life-lnsiory. — The first individuals are 
found on the young wheat in the latter part of April, 
though during open winters they may remain on the 
young wheat, as observed by Dr. Cyrus Thomas in 1875 
and Prof. H. Garman in 1889. Until early July the lice 
feed upon the wheat, first upon the stalk and leaves and 
later upon the head, breeding in the parthenogenetic 
manner of most aphids. (See life -history of Corn Koot- 
aphis, page 136.) The color of the lice varies greatly, as 
does also the size. In the spring tlie winged lice are 
green, with head, antennae, thorax, femora, tarsi, corni- 
cles, and a series of spots on the sides of the abdomen 
black. As the grain matures and the lice migrate to the 
head, many of them become yellow, reddish, and some of 
the winged forms almost black. The wingless lice are of 
a pale green. 

Oats, barley, rye, corn, blue grass, and many other 
grasses furnish food for this pest, and after the wheat 
becomes mature it may commonly be found on volunteer 
oats until the fall wheat appears. During the hot weather 
of midsummer, however, it is not much in evidence. 

The true sexes occur in the fall, and eggs are laid upon 
the fall wheat. 

Enemies. — Were it not for its parasites and the preda- 
ceous insects which feed upon it, the Wheat-aphis would in- 
deed be a most serious past, but ordinarily these keep it well 
under control, and when for some reason they are them- 
selves killed off for a season and the lice have opportunity 
to multiply, they soon become so numerous as to again 



118 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

destroy so niciny as to prevent serious injury. The effect 
of these parasites and predaceous insects is indeed marvel- 
lous and is always a matter of observation to the farmer, 
who wonders if they are to finish the work of the lice and 
utterly destroy the crop. Prof. Webster says of them: 
*'The effect of the parasites upon the grain-louse was 
simply astonishing, while their numbers were myriad. 
Going to the fields of recently harvested grain, if one stood 
in a position to bring the newly made shocks between 
himself and the setting sun, he could clearly observe the 
swarms of minute hymenoptera arising therefrom and 
flying away. Besides, the stubble-fields were overrun with 
lady-beetles and their larvae," Several internal parasites 
belonging to the family BntconidcB (see page 41) are con- 
cerned in this good work, one variety, described by 
Prof. A. J. Cook as Aphidius gr(maria])his (Fig. ^i^), 
having been esj^ecially numerous in Michigan in 1889. 
All the common ladybird-beetles feed upon these lice, and 
with an abundance of food increase in numbers very 
rapidly. Several species of syrphus-flies and Clirysoj^a are 
equally fond of them, and are very numerous in infested 
fields. 

Remedies. — As far as known no artificial remedy for the 
Wheat-louse has yet been found. Though the lice might 
be destroyed with various sprays, this is hardly practicable 
in a wheat-field; and inasmuch as the lice breed upon so 
many species of the grass family, there seems to be no cul- 
tural metliod for combating them. Ordinarily, therefore, 
we will have to trust to the good woebnrk of the eficial 
insects and diseases to prevent their depredations. 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO WHEAT. 119 

Wheat Saw-flies (Dolerus spp.). 

Several species of saw-fly larv« sometimes feed upon the 
leaves and rarely the heads of wheat, but seldom do serious 
injury. Dolerus arvensis Say and Dolerus collaris Say 
have both been reared ujion wheat from Ohio and New 
Jersey, though both species occur throughout the United 
States and southern Canada east of the Rockies. The 
adult flies "are comparati^^ely large, robust insects, of a 
dull black or bluish color, varied with yellow or reddish." 
'^The larvae are quite uniform in color and general char- 
acteristics. They have twenty-two legs, are cylindrical, 
and generally of a uniform grayish or slaty color, dorsally 
and laterally, but nearly white ventrally." * 

The adults deposit their eggs in the spring, and larvae 
are to be found early in June. The only record found of 
the life-history is that of D. collaris by Prof. Webster, 
who found that a larva collected on June 15, 1897, entered 
the ground in about ten days, and the first adult emerged 
January 11, 1898, though the adults usually appear later. 

The most common saw-fly feeding upon wheat-foliage is 
PacUynematus exiensicornis Norton. '' The adult insects 
ajopear during the latter part of April and first of May, 
the males antedating the females several days. The eggs, 
when first laid, are of a light green color. They are 
inserted to the number of two to five, or more, together 
along the edges of the wheat-blades and just beneath the 
epidermis. Some fifteen or sixteen days elapse before 
hatching. The newly hatched larva is rather slender and 

* Wheat and Grass Saw-flies. C. V. Riley and C. L. Maiiatt, 
"Insect Life," Vol. IV, p. 169. 



120 INSECTS IJ^JUIIIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

elongate, tapering gradually from the head to the last 
segment; head yellowish, eyes black. Full growth is 
attained in about five weeks, the mature larva having a 
length of about four-fifths of an inch. The hea,d is of a 
pale clay-yellow color, the eyes are black, and the color 
of the body is green or yellowish green. The larva is at 




Fig. 68. — Dolerus nrvensis Say, female. (After Riley and Marlatt, 
" Insect, Life," U. S. Dept. Agr ) 

once separated from the Dolerus larvae by the possession 
of but seven pairs of abdominal feet." (R. & M., 1. c.) 
When full-grown the larvse enter the earth and construct 
silken cocoons, in which they doubtless remain unchanged 
over winter, transforming to pup^e shortly before the 
adults emerge the next spring. The form of the adults is 
well shown in the illustration. " The female is stout and 
in general light yellowish or ochraceous in color. The 
abdomen is for the most part dark brown or black, 
dorsally, except the posterior lateral margin and the 
extreme tip. The male is much more slender and elon- 
gate than the female, and is almost black in color, the tip 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO WHEAT. 



121 



of the abdomen being reddish and part of the legs 
whitish." This species has been taken on wheat in 
Illinois, Nebraska, Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, Indiana, 
and Pennsylvania. During 1886 and 1887 it did con- 
siderable damage by cutting oif the heads, — sometimes, as 




Fig. 69. — The Grass Saw-fly {Parliynemaius extensicornis Norton). 
a, n, eggs on wheat-bLide; h, young larvce; c, full-grown larva; 

d, cocoon from which adult has emerged; e, f, adult insects — 

e, male; /, female, a and h, natural size; c-f, enlarged. (After 
Riley and Marlatt, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 

stated by a Maryland man, cutting fully one-half of them. 
No more recent damage has been recorded, and owing to 
the slight damage usually done no remedies have received 
a i^ractical test. Deep fall plowing might be of advantage 
by burying the larvae so deeply that the adults would be 
unable to escape. 



122 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

INJURING THE HEAD. 

The Wheat-midge {Diplosis tritici Kirby). 
History. — While the Hessian Fly attacks the stalk of 
the wheat-plant, another species of the same genus, known 
as the Wheat-midge, or " Red Weevil/^ often does very 
serious damage to the maturing head. It, too, is a 
foreigner, having first been noticed as injurious in Suffolk, 
England, in 1795, though probable references to its 
depredations date back as early as 1741. "In ' Ellis^s 
Modern Husbandman^ for 1745 the attacks of the vast 
numbers of black flies (the ichneumon parasites) are 
noticed in the following quaint terms : ' After this we have 
a melancholy sight, for, as soon as the wheat had done 
blooming, vast numbers of black flies attacked the wheat- 
ears and bio wed a little yellow maggot which ate \\^ some 
of the kernels in other jiarts of them, and which caused 
multitudes of ears to miss of their fulness, acting in some 
measure like a sort of locust, till rain fell and washed them 
off; and though this evil has happened in other summers 
to the wheat in some degree, yet if the good providence of 
God had not hindered it they might have ruined all the 
crops of wheat in the nation.^ (Hind's ' Essay on Insects 
and Diseases Injurious to Wheat Crops,' page 76.)" ^ It 
seems probable that it was first introduced into America 
near Quebec, where it "appears to have occurred" in 
1819, and was first observed in the United States in 
northwestern Vermont in 1820. It did not become very 
destructive, however, until 1828, from which time until 
1835 it kept increasing in such numbers as to cause the 

* The Wheat-midge. Bulletin No. 5, Vol. 1, 2d Ser., Ohio Ag. 
Exp. Sta., r. M. Webster. 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO WHEAT. 



123 



abandonment of the wheat crops in some localities throngh- 
out nortliern New England. Serions damage was reported 
as due to this pest every few years nntil about 1860, being 
most severe in 1854, — in which year Dr. Fitch estimated 
the loss in New York alone at 115,000/000,— 1857, and 




Fig. 70. — Wheat-midge {Diplosis triti'-i). a, female tiy; b, male 
fly; c, larva from below. (After Murlatt, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



1858. Since then no wide-spread injury has occurred, 
though local outbreaks are frequent, and it has spread 
south to the Gulf States and westward to Iowa, Minnesota, 
and Arkansas. 

LifG-history. — The adult flies are small, tivo-winged 
insects, about an eighth of an inch long, of a yellow or 
orange color. They appear about the middle of June and 
lay the eggs ''in a small cavity at the summit of, and 
formed by a groove in, the outmost chaif covering the 
incipient kernel." They hatch in about a week, according 
to Dr. Fitch, and the maggots burrow into the fonning 
kernels. The maggots are of a reddish color, and when 



124 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE (MU)PS. 

un ear is badly infested giv^e it a reddish tinge, on account 
of which the ijisect is often called the '' Red Weevil/'' 

When full-grown the larvae enter the ground and usually 
form cocoons, in which they pass the winter in the pupal 
stage, though they often hibernate without such protec- 
tion. Though doubtless there is usually but one brood in 
a season, observations by Prof. F. M. Webster and others 
seem to point to the fact that there sometimes are two 
broods, as adults have been observed from August into 
November. 

Besides wheat, the wheat-midge also sometimes injures 
rye, barley, and oats. 

Remedies. — Plowing infested fields in the fall so deeply 
that the midges will be unable to reach the surface upon 
developing in the spring is by far the best means of con- 
trolling this pest; while burning the stubble previous to 
plowing, and a rotation of the crop, will also be of con- 
siderable aid,* 



'•'See " Tlie Piincipal In. ect 1 nemies of Giowiug Wheat," C. 
L. Mailutt, Farmers' liiilletia, No. 182, U. S. Dept. Agr. 



CHAPTER VII. 

INSECTS IXJURIOUS TO CORN 

IXJURIKG THE ROOTS. 

Corn Koot-wornis. 

The Western Corn Root-worm {Diabrolica longicornis Say). 

The farmers and entomologists of the Central States 
have long known this as one of the worst pests with which 
they have to deal, and its progress eastward through Ohio 
has heen a matter of considerable interest. 

History. — Otitside of entomological collections, the 
beetle was hardly known until 1878, when it first appeared 
in Illinois in such numbers as to cause any wide-spread 
damage. First observed by Say in 1823, who gave its 
habitat as Arkansas Territory, it was not again noticed 
until found numerous upon sorghum by Prof. "W^. S. 
Robinson of Kansas in 1866, who gave a large thistle as 
its native food-plant. In 1874 Prof. C. Y. Riley received 
a larva from Kirkland, Mo. , which had been found bur- 
rowing into the roots of corn with considerable injury, 
and again in 1878 from Eureka, Mo. Prof. Webster states 
that in Illinois from the spring of 1874 he collected only 
two specimens until the fall of 1877, when quite a number 
were taken in corn-fields. A rapid increase in numbers 
occurred during the next three years, and by 1880 its 

125 



126 



INSKCTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



injuries to corn in Illinois were so severe as to denuind 
investigation. At that time it was stated by several 
farmers that the larvae had been noted feeding on corn- 




^ssm 



Fig. ll.—DinhroUcd longkornis Say. a, beetle; b, larva — Western 
corn root- worm; c, pupa; d, egg; d', portion of egg enlarged 
(X40); e, mandible of larva; /, Lead of larva from above. Hair- 
lines at sides natural size. (Redrawn from Forbes.) 





Fig. 72.— a, Diahrotica 12-punctata Oliv. Beetle of Southern corn 
root-worm; b, Diahrotica mttata Fab. Striped Cucumber- 
beetle. (Redrawn from Forbes.) 

roots for ten or twelve years, and that serious damage had 
been done for at least seven years. Thus it is evident that 
in all probability the injuries to corn commenced in 
Missouri and Kansas during the early '70's, and, as soon 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CORN. 127 

as the larvae had acquired a decided taste for corn, S2:)read 
gradually eastward into Illinois, where that is the staple 
crop. 

In the spring of 1882 Professors Forbes and Webster 
began a careful study of the life-history, habits, and 
injuries of the insect, and to them we owe almost all our 
knowledge of it. At that time its injuries were found to 
be general throughout western Illinois, north of Centralia, 
and also in southeastern Iowa, destroying from five to over 
fiffij per cent of the crop. In 1885 Prof. We])ster found 
it abundant at Lafayette, Indiana, where the owner of one 
large estate estimated his loss at fifteen per cent of the 
whole crop, or a cash loss of 160,000. 

Unnoticed in Ohio till 1802, in that year it was reported 
from Hamilton County, in the extreme southwestern 
corner of the State, and was also found in Van Wert 
County, in tlie northwestern part. Since then it has 
steadily advanced, each year spreading over one and one- 
half counties to the eastward, until in 1895 it had been 
reported from over almost the entire western half of the 
State. No special notice has been seen of any spread. 
While thus spreading eastward, it has become generally 
recognized in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, northern Missouri, 
Illinois, and Indiana. 

Though never known to have been seriously injurious 
east of Ohio, the writer found ears of corn in a field near 
Ithaca, N. Y., which had been planted in that crojo for 
several years, attacked by large numbers of tlie beetles. 
On September 15, 1897, the corn was fairly alive with the 
beetles, as many as a dozen being found eating the silk of 
a single ear, generally well under the husk. Mr. Harring- 



128 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

ton has found the beetles on thistles as far east as New 
Brunswick. The only previous records of it in New York 
are those of Prof. Webster, who quotes Mr, Fred. Blanchard 
of Lowell, Mass., as having specimens from New York, 
and Mr. Ottomar Reinecke of Buffalo, who wrote that he 
had collected it there on willow prior to 1880. Though 
these statements are doubtless correct, there certainly is 
no record of it during the last fifteen years, and never of 
its having been injurious. 

Life-history. — The life-history of the pest, though not 
completely known, is yet comparatively simple. The eggs 
are laid in the early fall, within a few inches of the base 
of the stalk, from one to five inches deep in the soil. The 
larvse hatch from June to August, and at first eat the 
small roots entire, and then commence burrowing under 
the outer layers of the larger roots, causing the stalks 
to be easily blown over if on a rich loam, or small ears 
and a general dwarfing of the plant, if on poorer land. 
The adult worm is nearly white, with brown head, a little 
less than half an inch long by less than one-tenth of an 
inch in diameter. Three pairs of short legs are found on 
the segments immediately back of the head, but otherwise 
the long, cylindrical body appears perfectly smooth to the 
unaided eye, though seen to have numerous hairs and 
bristles under the microscope. Before pupation the color 
becomes slightly darker and the body shortens, becoming 
more like a common grub. They then leave the roots, 
form a small oval cell in the soil, transform to pupa3, and 
in a short time come forth as adult beetles. 

The beetles are of a greenish or greenish-yellow color 
and about one-fourth of an inch long, resembling in form 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CORN. 129 

the common Striped Cucumber-beetle. The adults are 
found in the fields from the latter part of July until the 
corn-silk becomes brown and dry, and often later, feeding 
upon the-silk and pollen, thus doing more or less damage, 
though slight when compared with that of the larvse. 
Tliough feeding almost entirely upon corn, they have 
occasionally been recorded as eating various weeds, clover, 
beans, cucumber- and squash-vines, apples of which the 
skin had been broken, cotton -flowers, pumpkins, aod 
various fungi. 

{Remedy. — See below.) 

The Southern Corn Root-worm or Twelve-spotted Diabro- 
tica [Diahrofica daodecempunctata Oliv.). 

This beetle is distinguished from the above by being 
larger and having three transverse rows of four black 
spots on the wing-covers. Its larva, which has very 
similar habits and is very injurious, by eating the corn- 
roots in the South, has not been known to do so in the 
North, but is everyw^here exceedingly abundant. The 
beetle is probably best known as attacking squash-, melon-, 
and cucumber-vines, of which it eats voraciously both 
leaves and fruit, but has also been noticed on clover, 
cabbage, cauliflower, beans, beets, hops, cotton, chrysan- 
themums, and various fruit-trees. 

Remedy. — The remedy for both these pests is so simple 
and effective that it would seem that no one ought to 
suffer from their injury. As far as known, they have 
never been injurious to corn after a previous crop of 
wheat, rye, or barley, though the field may have been 
infested before that, and a crop of corn is then safe for at 



130 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

least two years. Tims a simple rotation, which is also to 
be reconimeuded on many other grounds, is entirely 
efl'ectual. * 

The Corn-root Web-worm (Cramhus caligiiwsellus Clem.). 

Injury. — When young corn-plants are seen to stop 
growing, become deformed, and to die off in such numbers 
as to frequently necessitate replanting, upon examination 
of the roots the injury will often be found to be due to 
the work of a small caterpillar. Two or three, very often 
five or six, and sometimes as many as eight or nine will 
be found at the base of a plant about an inch below the 
surface of the soil, and not o\er four to six inches from 
the stalk, usually being in close proximity to it. Each 
larva is covered with a fine, loose web, to which cling 
particles of earth, forming a sort of case, and on account 
of which these insects are known as Web-worms. 

Where the web- worms are present in any number they 
will often necessitate the second, third, and sometimes a 
fourth planting, making the corn very late and involving 
considerable expense. The worms bore into the young 
stalks just above the ground, frequently cutting them off 
entirely. Later on the larger stalks are gouged out at or 
slightly above the surface of the ground, and the larvae 
burrov/ into the folded leaves, which when they unfold 
have several transverse rows of three to five holes. On 

*See: 

1882. Forbes, S. A. First Ann. Kept. 12tli Kept. St. Ent. 111., 

p. 10. 

1890. Forbes, S. A. 6th Anu. Rept., p. 71. 

1892. " " 7tli '^ " pp. 146, 154. 

1894. Webster, F. M. Bull. No. 51 Ohio Ag. Exp. Sta., p. 89. 

1896. " " " " 68 " - " - p 39. 



INSECTS iNTJtJRrOtJS TO CORN. 131 

account of this habit these insects are sometimes known 
as '^bnd-worms." Strong plants will often make a new 
start and survive the injury, but remain much behind 
those not attacked, while most of the weaker plants will 
decay and rot off. 

TJie Moth. — As one walks through pasture or grass land, 
many little white and yellowish moths are seen flying 
about on all sides, but quickly disappear as they alight on 
the grass. If a single individual be watched more closely, 
it will be noticed that in alighting upon a blade of grass 
it quickly rolls its wings very tightly around its body, and 
hugs up close to the grass so that it is hardly distinguish- 
able from it. Projecting from the head in front is what 
appears to be a long beak or snout, on account of which 
these moths are often known as *^' snout-moths,^' but 
which really consists of the palpi or feelers. The '' Grass- 
moths, '' as they are sometimes called, belong to the genus 
Crambiis and include several common species, being 
marked with silver stripes and bands, as well as golden 
lines and markings, so that they often present a very 
handsome appearance. 

Life-history. — These are the parents of the Web-worms 
which do so much injury to the young corn-roots, the 
principal depredators upon corn belonging to the species 
0ra77il)us caliginosellus. They lay their eggs in grass land 
in May or early June, dropping them on the surface among 
the rubbish or vegetation, or attaching them to the grass. 
They are oval in form and of a yellowish color, each being 
marked with regularly placed ridges. About two hundred 
eggs are laid by each female. In from six to ten days the 
eggs hatch. The young larvae soon form their loose silken 
webs or tubes at or a little below the surface of the soil, 



132 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CKOPS. 




Fig. 73.— The Corn-root Web-worm {Cramhvs caliginoselki^) " 
larva; h. pupa; c, moth; d, segment of larva; e, parasite 
(After Johnson. ) 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CORN. 133 

burrowing among the roots, and feeding upon tlie stalk 
and outer leaves, or killing the phmt by attacking the 
crovv'n. The larvas vary considerably in color, from a 
yellowish white, through pink, to a reddish or brownish 
shade, and are studded with small tubercles, each bearing 
a tuft of bristly hairs. The larvae become full-grown in 
from five to seven weeks and are then from one-half to 
three-fourths of an inch long. During the latter part of 
July they form cocoons, sometimes in the larval tubes, in 
which they pass the pupal stage and from which the 
moths emerge some twelve to fifteen days later. Eggs are 
laid in grass lands during August and September for 
another brood, the larva3 hatching in September and 
October and becoming part-grown before winter. They 
hibernate in their webs over winter, and as soon as the 
grass commences its growth in the spring they are to be 
found feeding upon it, becoming full-grov\^n early in May. 
Preventive. — As the natural food of these insects is grass, 
it is not surprising that corn planted on sod land should 
be w^orst injured; and though the injury done the grass 
may not have been noticeable, when the available food is 
so greatly diminished by substituting for grass land the 
comparatively few hills of corn the injury becomes much 
more serious and apparent. Though the planting of corn 
on sod land is a most common practice, injury by this and 
many other insect pests of corn^ — -most of whose native 
food is grass — might be avoided by planting any other crop 
than a grain, such as potatoes. OtherAvise plowing late in 
the fall and harrowing so as to expose the larva3 to the 
weather, or plowing so deeply that they will be buried so 
that they cannot regain the surface, will do much to pre- 
vent injury the next season. Inasmuch as the moth will 



134 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

not Ijij her eggs upon plowed land, if the land be plowed 
early she will be driven to other fields; but the exact time 
of oviposition varies for different latitudes. 

Generous fertilization will aid the plants in overcoming 
injury very considerably. Dr. J. B. Smith advises "the 
application of all the necessary potash in the form of 
kainit, jDut on as a top-dressing after the field is prepared 
for planting/' and says: "Fall plowing and kainit as a 
top-dressing in spring will, I feel convinced, destroy by 
all odds the greater proportion of the web worms that in- 
fest the sod, and would also destroy or lessen many other 
pests which trouble corn during the early part of its life.'' 

The Corn Root-louse (Jj/his maidi-ntdicis Forbes). 

Descnptio?i. — Where patches of corn become dwarfed, 
the leaves becoming yellow and red, with a general lack 
of vigor, one may well be suspicious of the work of the 
Corn Root-louse. Though such an appearance may be 
due to the Root-blight or the Grass Root-louse {Scliizo- 
neiira pcuiicola Thos.), the cause of the trouble may 
usually be ascertained by an examination of the roots. If 
due to root-lice, they will be readily seen gathered 
together in large masses. The Root-louse may be recog- 
nized by being of a bluish-green color, with a white, waxy 
bloom, of an oval form, with two short, slender tubes 
projecting from the posterior part of the abdomen. These 
have open ends and were formerly supposed to excrete the 
sweet liquid "honey-dew" upon which the ants feed, and 
were therefore called "honey-tubes.'' If the Crrass-louse 
be the depredator, however, it may be recognized by its 
white color, its blackish head and markings, and the 
absence of the honey-tubes, their position being indicated 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CORN. 135 

by two small openings surrounded by narrow brownish 
rings. The latter species is common upon the roots of 
grasses, among which may be mentioned blue grass, 
timothy, and Panicum (jJahriiiu, and though it rarely 
becomes of any great economic importance, it is well to be 
able to distinguish it from the more injurious Corn Root- 
louse. 

Didri'bution and Food. — The Corn Eoot-louse has been 
reported from Illinois, where it occurs in all j^arts of the 
State, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, Indiana, Ohio, 
Kentuck}^, Minnesota, and Nebraska, so that it doubtless 
occurs to some extent through the whole Corn Belt. 
Besides broom-corn and sorghum no other cultivated crop 
has been known to have been injured by this pest, though 
it feeds in early spring and even as late as June upon 
the roots of smaitweed, purslane, Portidaca soleracca, 
ragweed, foxtail, and crab-grasses. The economic bearing 
of its feeding upon these weeds will be seen in discussing 
the life-history. 

Care of tlie Ants. — If you will break open the nests of 
the small brown ants [Lasius niger and var. aJienvs), 
which are common in corn-fields which have been infested 
with the root-louse, during the winter, you will doubtless 
find many of the little black aphis-eggs, which have been 
carefully stored by the ants and which will be well cared 
for by them during the winter. They are of a glossy 
black color and an oval shape, and will sometimes be found 
in small piles in the chambers of the ants' nests. On 
warm days the ants bring them up to the warmer surface- 
soil, and in cold weather carry them far down into the 
unfrozen earth. With the appearance of the young smart- 
weed plants {^Polygonum persicaria) in early spring, the 



130 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

eggs commence to hatch. The ants at once hiy hare the 
smartweed roots and carry their young wards to them, 
where large colonies soon hecome estahlished. 

Life-]iii<tory. — If the field is not planted in corn, the 
lice will later feed npon the roots of the pigeon-grass or 
purslane. About the first of May the second generation 
of lice commences to appear, among them being both 
winged and wingless forms. Like most plant -lice, this 
brood, and all daring the summer, are produced by 
females known as agamic females, without any intervention 
of the male form, the young lice being borne directly by 
the female without any Qgg stage. Sucli females are called 
viviparous in contrast to those laying eggs, which are called 
oviparous, and such a process is termed ''budding "or 
part]ienoge7iesis. The little brown ants again transfer tlie 
lice to the roots of the young corn-plants about this time, 
burrowing around the roots of the corn so as to lay them 
bare, and even carrying hither winged lice. All through 
the summer they attend the lice, burrowing around the 
roots of the corn, and carrying them from plant to plant, 
in return for which, upon stroking the lice with their 
antennae, the lice give off the sweet " honey- dew" upon 
which the ants feed; indeed, the lice have been well 
likened to herds of cattle, cared for l)y the ant herds- 
men. The first three generations each require about 
nineteen days to become full-grown. During the summer 
the lice continue breeding with extreme rapidity, the 
broods becoming mature in an average of eleven days, 
some twelve broods occurring before the middle of Sep- 
tember. During the summer both winged and wingless 
agamic females occur, but about the middle of September 
appears a brood of wingless lice including both true sexes. 



INSECTS IXJUKTOUS TO CORN. 137 

The females of this brood lay the eggs until the middle of 
November. This generation is usually carried by the ants 
to their nests, of which they are given the freedom and in 
which they lay their eggs. 

Remedies — Owing to the fact that the lice do not 
migrate until the second generation, a rotation of crops 
will be of considerable service in checking their injuries, 
as corn planted on uninfested land will not be attacked 
until it has been able to secure a good start, and if well 
fertilized may be able to successfully withstand the injuries 
of the lice. The proper fertilization of plants infested 
with root-insects is always of the greatest importance, and 
usually the corn-plant will readily throw out sufficient 
roots to enable it to mature a crop, if the soil contains 
sufficient nourishment and is under j)roper cultivation. 

As the ants not only care for the lice during spring and 
summer, being largely responsible for their spread, but 
house the eggs in their nests over winter, any means by 
which the nests may be destroyed together with their 
inmates, the adult ants, their larvae, and a|)his-eggs, will 
therefore be of considerable value in controlling the lice. 
Deep fall plowing and harrowing, thoroughly breaking up 
the ants' nests just before early winter, has been found to 
accomplish this end to a large extent, and is also excellent 
practice for destroying the hibernating larvae of cutworms 
and the Corn Stalk-borer. Furthermore, inasmuch as the 
lice feed upon various weeds in early spring, if these be 
kept cultivated out, the probability of injury to the corn 
will be greatly lessened. These weeds are usually thickest 
in low spots, and it is in just these places that the lice 
appear first and do their Avorst damage. 

Injury done by the Corn Root-aphis is often overlooked 



138 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 




Fig. 74. — The Corn Root aphis (Aphis maidirndicis Forbes); Ovip- 
arous female, (t, hind tibia, showing sensoria. (After Forbes.) 




Fig. 75. — The Corn Root-aj^liis; male, a, antenna?. (After Forbes.) 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CORN, 



139 










Fig. 76. —The Corn Root-aphis (Aphis m'ndirndi-is Forbes). 1, 
wingless viviparous female; n, apex of abdomen; 2, antennae 
of same; H, pupa; 4, winged viviparous femaL^; 5, antenna of 
same. (After Forbes.) 



140 



INSKCTS INJURIOUS TO STAI'LH CUOV 



or attributed to other causes, as is much of that done 
l)y root-lice or other pLints, largely on account of igno- 
rance concerning it. From the above description of its life 




its destructive capacity may readily be seen, and also the 
weak points in its career, at which times it may be most 
successfully combated. With such a knowledge to guide 
us, the application of the cultural methods outlined is but 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CORN". 



141 



a simple matter, and a most practical and efficient method 
of dealing with this troublesome pest. 




Fig. 78. — Grass Root-louse; wingless viviparous female. (After 

Forbes. ) 



INJURING THE STALK. 

Corn Bill-bugs {SphenopJiorus spp.). 

DescriiJtion. — Throughout the South and often in the 
more Northern States, Canada, and the West the Corn 
Bill-bugs sometimes become serious enemies of young 
corn-plants. They belong to the same class of *' snout- 
beetles^' as the Plum Ciirculio and Grain-weevil, and to 
the same family as the latter — the Calandridce. They are 
called " Bill-bugs'' on account of the prolongation of the 
head, termed a bill or snout, by means of which they are 
enabled to drill holes in the corn-stalks. Several species 
belonging to the genus Splienojphoriis are commonly in- 
jurious to corn. One of these, 8. parvulus GylL, also 
attacks small grains and timothy, and is therefore known 
as the Grain Sphenophorus. Another species, 8. ohsciiriis 
Boisd., does considerable injury to sugar-cane in Hawaii, 



142 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

The adult beetles are from one- fourth to three -fourths of 
an inch long, of the form shown in the illustration, and 
are of a brown or black color, marked with darker longi- 
tudinal ridges on the wing-covers. The larvae are of from 
one-fourth to five-eighths of an inch long, thick fleshy 
white grubs, with brown heads aiid cervical shields on first 
segments, and footless. 

Life-histories. — The life-histories of the different species 
are but partially known and vary somewhat. 

S. parvuhis hibernates over winter as a beetle, appear- 
ing in March and April. The female punctures the stalk 
of wheat or timothy — oats and barley are also sometimes 
attacked — a little above the roots, and deposits her egg in 
the cavity. This is done in May or June even up to July 
1st. The larva3 are to be found during July, becoming 
full-grown and pupating during the latter part of that 
month. The larvae will eat out quite a cavity in the 
interior of the stalk or bulb, and then attack the roots, 
thus often killing a whole clump or stool of small grain 
or timothy. The pupal stage is passed in a small cell in 
the earth and lasts from two to three weeks, adult beetles 
emerging from the middle of August to the first of 
October. 

The life-history of S. rohnstus is not known, though 
larvae and pupae were collected in South Carolina on 
August 20th, and adults in early spring and late August. 
So far this species has been found only on corn. " Wher- 
ever, ^^ says Dr. Howard, ^'the larva had reached its full 
size the pith of the stalk was found completely eaten out 
for at least five inches. Below ground even the hard, 
external portions of the stalk were eaten through, and in 
one instance everything except the rootlets had dis- 



INSECTS INJUiaOUS TO CORN 143 

appeared and the stalk had fallen to the ground. In a 
great majority of instances but a single larva was found 
in a stalk, but a few cases were found where two larvse were 
at work. In no case had an ear filled on a stalk bored 
by this larva. The stalk was often stunted and twisted, 
and the lower leaves were invariably brown and twisted." 

One of the most injurious species to corn is S. oclirens 
Lee. The life-history is much the same as that of 
S. parvulus, though eggs have been found as late as July 
30th. The natural food-plant of this species, liowever, is 
the common Club-rush {Scirpus fluviat ilis), the roots of 
which consist of bulbs connected by smaller slender roots. 
The eggs are deposited in or about the roots of this rush, 
never having been found on corn. The bulbs of the rush 
are very hard and oftentimes as large as hens' eggs. In 
them the larvae burrow, becoming full-grown and trans- 
forming to pupa3, from which the adult beetles appear in 
August and September. When the rush becomes too hard 
for the beetles they often attack a common reed (Pit rag- 
mites conimiuiis), piercing and splitting lengthwise the 
unfolded terminal leaves, and eating out the succulent 
portions within. The injury to corn is done by the beetles 
while the corn is still young, feeding upon it in the same 
manner as do the other species. " Standing with the head 
dow^nward and the feet embracing the lower part of the 
stalk." says Dr. Forbes, ''they slowly sink the beak into 
the plant, using the jaws to make the necessary perfora- 
tion. By moviug forward and backward and twisting to 
the right and left, the beetle will often hollow out a cavity 
beneath the surface much larger than the superficial injury 
will indicate." As the lower part of the stalk becomes 
hardened, they leave it for the terminal portiou, and when 



144 



INSECTS TNJUUIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



tlio ears commence to form often penetrate the husk and 
gorge out the soft cob. Sometimes the iiijury thus in- 
flicted is but slight, merely resulting in a puncturing of 
the leaves when they unfold, these being in a series across 
the leaf resulting from a single puncture when the leaf was 
folded, and looking much like the work of the Corn Eoot- 
web-worm. But when several beetles attack a young plant, 




Fig. 79.— (S. ochreus, larva, adult, and work in roots of Srirjrus. 
(After Webster, "Insect Life.") 

they will either kill it outright or so deform the foliage 

and stalk that no ear will mature. 

Several other species have also been known to do more 

or less injury to corn, viz., S. scoparins, placidus, cariosus, 

S('/(/j)lilis, and pcriuwcr. but so far as known their habits 

and injuries are much the same as of those already described. 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CORX. 



145 



Mecms of Control— T]iq control of these pests is rather 
a difficult task. S. rohustiis, which breeds in corn and 
winters in a pupal cell in the roots and stalk as an adult 




Fig. 80.— Sections of Sugar cane sllo^ving work of SphenopJwrvs 
ohscurus. a, larva; b, pupa; c, probable points of ovipof^iticn. 
(After Riley and Howard, "Insect Life.") 

beetle, might be destroyed by plowing up and burning tiie 

stubble. ^S'. oclireus, as are in fact all of the species, is 

most injurious on recently cleared swamp-land, and usually 

disappears as fast as these lands are drained and cultivated. 

Planting llax, potatoes, or some crop not attacked by these 



146 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

insects for the first crop will largely prevent so serious 
injury to a subsequent corn crop. The burning over of 
grass- and swamp-land infested with the beetles will also 
be of considerable value. 

The Larger Corn Stalk-borer {Diatrma saccharalis Fab.).* 
Injur If. — Every season corn throughout the district from 
Alabama to Maryland is more or less seriously injured by 
large, white, brown -spotted caterpillars, which bore into 
the stalks, especially the yoang stalks. When abundant 
a loss of from 25 to 50 per cent of the crop results. In 
Louisiana and the West Indies this pest is known as the 
Sugar-cane-borer. It is found as far west as Kansas, and 
is frequently injurious in the southern parts of Maryland, 
Delaware, and New Jersey. 

Life-J/isforff. — In the fall when the caterpillars become 
full-grown they burrow down into the tap-root and there 
pass the winter in a small cavity at or near the surface of 
the ground. In the spring they transform to pupa3 (Fig, 
81), from which the adults soon emerge. The eggs are laid 
upon the leaves of the young corn near the axils, and the 
young larvas hatching from them bore into the stalk and 
upward through the pith. As the borers grow they 
become very active and frequently leave and re-enter the 
stalk, thus making several holes. When the caterpillars 
are full-grown they bore outwards to the surface of the 
stalk, making a hole for the escape of the adult moth, and 
then transform to pupa3 in the burrows. This takes 
place from the middle of July on, and the adult moths 
emerge from ten days to two weeks later. The second 

^ Sec L. (). Howard, Circidar 16, n. s., Div. Entomology, U. S. 
Dept. Agriculture. 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CORN. 147 

brood of larvae feed on the old stalks, tunneling them 
between the second joint and the ground, and become 
full-grown about harvest-time, when they go into winter 




Fig. 81. — Work of the larger Corn Stalk-borer, a, o;eneral appear- 
ance of stalk infested by the early o;eneration of borers; h, same 
cut open to show pupa and larval burrow. (After Howard, 
U. S. Dept. Agr.) 

quarters as already described. " The damage done by the 
second generation consists largely in w^eakening the stalk 
so that it is readily blown to the ground, whereas damage 



148 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 




Fig. 82. — a, h, c, varieties of the larva of the larger Corn Stalk- 
borer; d, third thoracic segment; e, eighth abdominal segment; 
/, abdominal segment from side; g, same from above— enlarged. 
(After Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



^ 



8^ 



Cf 2 



/ 4^*J 



\^^ 

:.^«»-* 




Fig. 83. — The larger Corn Stalk-borer, a, female; h, wings of 
male; c, pupa— all somewhat enlarged. (After Howard, U. S. 
Dept. Agr.) 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CORN. 149 

by the first generation results in serious injury to the crop, 
preventing the growth of the ears." 

Description. — When full-grown the larva3 are about 
three-fourths of an inch long, with six true legs and five 
pairs of pro-legs, and of a white color marked with brown 
as shown in Fig. 82. These brown markings often become 
indistinct or lost in larvae hibernating over winter. 

Preventive. — Dr. Howard states that ^'in 1891 it was 
found that of corn planted during the first and second 
weeks in April, 25 per cent was damaged; of that planted 
the third and fourth weeks, 20 per cent was damaged: of 
that planted May 1st to loth, 15 per cent was damaged: 
of that planted May 15th to 31st, 12 per cent was 
damaged; of that planted from June 1st to 15th, 8 per 
cent or less was damaged. In fact, corn planted after the 
first of June was practically uninfested." 

Remedies. — Where corn has been seriously infested the 
old stalks or butts should be dragged off the field and 
burned late in the fall, thus destroying the over-wintering 
borers. Where corn is stripped for fodder, the stalks left 
standing, and the land sown in small grain, the most 
favorable conditions are allowed the borers for safely pass- 
ing the winter and developing into moths which will fly 
to new fields in the spring. Besides corn, sugar-cane, and 
sorghum, this insect also attacks a rank-growing grass 
which grows upon swampy land, known as Gama-grass, 
or Sesame-grass {Tripsacuni dactyloides). Where such 
grass adjoins corn-fields, therefore, it would be well to 
burn it over in the summer. A simple rotation of crops 
will also do much to lessen the numbers of this pest. It 
has been observed by Dr. Howard that crops on fields 
planted in corn the previous year have been damaged to 



150 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



the extent of 25 per cent, whereas injury to corn planted 
on sod land was only 10 per cent, though reasonably close 
to land which had been in corn. 

Cutworms {JVocluidce). 
Almost all of our common cutworms attack young corn 
to a greater or less extent, sometimes doing considerable 




Fig. 84. — The Well-marked Cutworm-moth {Nociua dandesiina 
Harris). (After Slingerland.) 



^^^ 


< 


:^ 




m 




Fig. 85. — The Dingy Cutworm (FeWa subgothica Haworth); male and 
female moths. (After Slingerland.) 

damage. The same species affect corn as tobacco, and the 
account given on page 214 is therefore equally applicable 
to corn cutworms. For large areas clover or grass might 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CORN. 151 

be sprayed with an arsenite, then cut, and bunches of it 
scattered over the fiekis, as a poisoned bait, instead of the 
bran mash, being cheaper and more easily prepared and 
applied in large quantities. 

INJURING THE EAR. 

The Corn Ear-worm (HeliofJu's armiger Hubn.). 

Practically the only insect seriously injuring the ears of 
field-corn, and the worst insect pest of sugar-corn, is the 
Ear-worm. In the extreme South the growing of sugar- 
corn successfully is almost an impossibility on account of 
the injury done by these worms, while further north it 
often reduces the profits by far too large an amount. 

This insect also does considerable damage to tomatoes 
by boring into the green and ripening fruit, being known 
as the ^'Tomato Fruit-w^orm " ; it bores into the "bud," 
or unfolding leaves, of tobacco, being known to planters 
as the '^Tobacco Bud-worm'' (see page 218); and is also 
one of the most serious pests of cotton (see page 201), 
beino- called the ''Cotton Boll-worm " from its habit of 
boring into the b:)ll. It also has many other food-plants 
and is a cosmopolitan insect^ being found in many parts 
of the world. 

Life-history. — In this latitude the moths appear during 
May and deposit their eggs on corn or other food-plants, 
such as beans. The eggs (Fig. 2) are small, yellow, cir- 
cular, flattened disks, prettily corrugated by ridges radiat- 
ing from the centre. They hatch in three or four days. 
When deposited upon corn they are usually laid in the silk 
or tassels. Upon hatching, the young worms, after feeding 
upon the silk for a day or two, find their way down into 



152 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



the ear, where they feed upon the tip of the young ear. 
Very often one worm will feed npon several ears before it 
becomes full-grown, eating its way out through the husk, 




Fig. 86. — Corn Ear- worms at Work. The central cob lias been 
attacked by a nearly full-grown worm, which has bored through 
the husk near the middle. (Original.) 

in w^hich it leaves a large round hole (Fig. 87), marking 
its exit. When full-grown the worms leave the ears and 
go into the ground, where, three or four inches below the 
surface, they hollow out small oval cells and in them 
transform to pupae. From ten days to two w^eeks later the 
next brood of moths emerges. Thus the complete life-cycle 
is completed in about thirty eight days, the exact time 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CORN. 



153 



varying with the Latitude and season. In the South there 
are five broods in a year; in Delaware there are three 




%w7n '?'""•. ^"'^ ''^ ^^^ ^f sugar-corn torn opeD, 

&lK)^Mng worms at work on tip, and hole through which a full 
grown worm has left. (Origina].) ku a luu 

broods, furtlior nortli but two, and in some sections possi- 
bly only one brood may occur. The second brood of 



154 INSECTS INJIJRTOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

moths appears in northern IX^hiware abont the middle of 
July, and the third brood during the first two weeks of 
September. In northern Delaware only the last brood 
of worms in September is injurious, but in the southern 
part of the State corn is injured at all seasons, but worst 
in July and September. In Delaware but little corn is 
canned after September 1st, but in Maryland, wdiere it is 
canned until frost, the late corn is always more or less 
seriously injured. 

Ilenwdies. — As yet no thoroughly satisfactory method of 
combating this pest upon corn is known. As the pupae 
of the last brood in the fall hibernate in the ground over 
winter, many of them may be killed by deep plowing late 
in the fall or early in the spring, but as the moths are 
strong fliers this probably would not appreciably lessen the 
number of worms unless generally practiced throughout a 
community. Evidently the time of planting is a point 
which should be carefully considered. As the moths 
prefer to lay their eggs on the silk, corn which is in silk 
when they emerge from tlie ground will be most seriously 
injured, while corn which has finished silking at that time 
will be but little injured. Thus a few days' difference in 
the time of planting may mean immunity from injury or 
serious loss. In this locality corn planted between the 
15th and 22d or 23d of June — the exact dates varying with 
the season — escapes injury by the fall brood, but that 
planted later than this is more or less injured, the later 
plantings being injured worst. The time of appearance 
of the different broods in different localities is therefore a 
matter of considerable importance, and a careful study 
may show that by proper iihiiiting injury can be largely 
escaped. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
"WEEVIL" IN GRAIN. 

The enterprising farmer who stores his strain, awaiting 
a higher price, is often sadly disappointed, when he sells at 
the top of the market, to find that it has been so riddled 
by "weevil*" that it brings no more than had it been sold 
previonsly. 

The term "weevil'" is rather a comprehensive one, 
being commonly applied to almost every insect infesting 
stored food-prodncts. But only four sjDecies are commonly 
injurious in the farm granary. 

Grain -weevils. 

Of these the Granary-weevil (Calandra granaria Linn.) 
and the Rice-weevil {C. oryzce) (Fig. 88) are the most 
common and widely distributed. Both of these insects 
have infested grain from the most ancient times, so long, 
in fact, that the granary- Aveevil has lost the use of its wings 
and remains entirely indoors. They are small, brown 
beetles, from one-eighth to one-sixth of an inch in length, 
with long snouts which are of great service in boring into 
the kernels of grain. By means of them the females 
puncture the grain and then insert an Qgg in the cavity. 
The larva hatching from this is without legs, somewhat 
shorter than the adult, white in color, and of a very robust 

155 



15G 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 




Fig. 88. — Cnlandra qrnnaria. a, beetle; h, larva; c, pupa; d, G. 
oryz't, beetle— all enlarged. (After Chittenden, U. S. Dept. 

Agr.) 




Fig. 89. — Bilvanus surinamensis. a, adult beetle; b, pupa; c, larva 
— all enlarged; d, antenna of larva— still more enlarged; e, 
Cathdrtus yemellatus. (After Chittenden, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



"weevil" INT GRAIN. 157 

build, being almost as broad as long. It soon devours the 
soft interior of the kernel and then changes to a pupa, 
from which the adult beetle emerges in about six weeks 
from the time the egg was laid. 

Only a single larva inhabits a kernel of wheat, but 
several will often be found in that of corn. Not only do 
the larvas injure the grain, but the beetles feed upon it, 
and then hollow out a shelter for themselves within the 
hull. The beetles are quite long-lived and thus do con- 
siderable damage. The egg-laying period is equally long, 
and as there are three or four broods in the North and six 
or more in the South, it has been estimated that the 
progeny of one pair would amount to 6000 insects in a 
single season. 

Grain-beetles. 

Another beetle very common in the granary, but of 
quite different appearance, is the Saw-toothed Grain-beetle 
{SilvauKS siirinamensis Linn.) (Fig. 89). It is a cosmo- 
politan pest and is also nearly omnivorous. The beetle is 
only about one-tenth of an inch long, very much flattened, 
of a dark-brown color, and may be easily recognized by the 
six saw-like teeth on each side of the thorax. The larva 
is of a dirty- white color, and quite dissimilar from that of 
the Granary-weevil. Having six legs to curry it about, it 
is not satisfied with a single seed, but runs about here and 
there, nibbling at several. When full-grown the larva 
glues together several grains or fragments into a little case, 
and inside of this transforms to the pupa and then to the 
beetle. In early spring this life-cycle requires from six to 
ten weeks, but in summer it is reduced to about twenty- 
five days. Thus there are from three to six or more 
generations during a season, according to the latitude. 



158 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CHOPS. 



The Red or Square-necked Grain-beetle (Calhar/us 
geiiiellatus Duv.) (Fig. 80) is about the same size as the 
last species, but is of a reddish-brown color, and the 
thorax is nearly square, nearly as broad as the abdomen, 








-m 




I "rrfO, 




Fig. 90. — Tenebroides mauritanicus. a, adult beetle with greatly en- 
larged antenna above; b, pupa; c, larva— all enlarged. (After 
Chittenden, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 

and not notched on the sides. It breeds hi corn in the 
field and in the granary, first destroying the germ, so that 
it is especially injurious to seed-corn. It feeds mostly out 
of doors, though sometimes infesting the granary. 

The Foreign Grain-beetle (Cathartus advena AValtl.) is 



"weevil" in grain. 159 

of much the same general appearance, but smaller and of 
a more robust appearance. It feeds upon a great variety 
of stored products as well as grain, but rarely becomes 
troublesome. 

The Cadelle {Tenebr aides mauritanicus Linn.) (Fig. 00) 
also has the bad habit of first attacking the embryo or 
germ of the kernel, and going from one kernel to another, 
thus destroying a large number for seed pur^ooses. It 
possesses, however, the good trait of destroying other 
injurious grain-insects. The beetle is oblong, flat, nearly 
black, and about one-third of an inch long. The larva is 
of a whitish color, with brown head, the thoracic segments 
marked with brown, and the abdomen terminating in two 
dark horny j^rocesses. It is a long fleshy grub, nearly 
three-fourths of an inch long when full-grown. 

Flour- and Meal-moths. 

The larvje of several small moths sometimes infest grain 
in store, but rarely do it serious damage, preferring the 
softer flour, meal, and food-products. 

The most destructive of these is the Mediterranean Flour- 
moth {Epliedia kuehnieUa Zell.) (Fig. 91). This insect 
was practically unknown until 1877, but during recent 
years it has occasioned the loss of many thousands of 
dollars to mill-owners. It occurs throughout Europe, and 
is found in Mexico and Chili. It was first recognized in 
America in 1889, and has since done an increasing amount 
of damage in California, in N'ew York and Pennsylvania, 
wliile it has been reported as occurring in Xorth Carolina, 
Alabama, New Mexico, and Colorado, and seems to be 
constantly spreading. ' ' The caterpillars form cylindrical 
silken tubes in which they feed, and it is in great part 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 




Fig. 91. — Ephestia kuehniella. a, motli; b, same from side, resting; 
c, larva; d, pupa— enlarged; e, abdominal joint of larva— more 
enlarged; /, larva, dorsal view. (After Chittenden, U. S. Dept. 
Agr.) 





Fig. 92.—Plodia inter punctella. a, moth; h, chrysalis; c, cater- 
pillar; /, same, dorsal view— somewhat enlarged; d, head, and e, 
first abdominal segment of caterpillar — more enlarged. (After 
Chittenden, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 




y^ 



'-^/.fj^^ ^P^^^^UL 



/ 







■^^ 



Fig. 93. — Pyralisfarinalis. a, adult moth; h, larva; r, pupa in 
cocoon— twice natural size. (After Chittenden, U. S. Dept. 

Agr.) 



161 

their habit of web-spinning that renders tliem so injurious 
where they obtain a foothold. Upon attaining full growth 
the caterpillar leaves its originrJ silken domicile and forms 
a new web, which becomes a cocoon in which to undergo 
its transformations to pupa and imago. It is while search- 
ing for a suitable place for transformation that the insect 
is most troublesome. The infested flour becomes felted 
together and lumpy, the machinery becomes clogged, 
necessitating frequent and prolonged stoppage, and result • 
ing in a short time in the loss of thousands of dollars in 
large establishments.^'* 

The life-cycle of this insect requires ordinarily about 
two months, but may be completed in thirty-eight days 
under the most favorable conditions. The adult moth 
measures a little less than an inch across the expanded 
wings. The fore wings are of a lead -gray color, with 
transverse black markings, while the hind wings are dirty 
whitish, with a darker border. 

The Indian Meal-moth {Plodia interyunctella Hbn.) 
(Fig. 92) larvae resemble those of the grain-beetles in 
having a special liking for the embrj^o of wheat-grains. 
They spin a fine silken web as they go from seed to seed, 
to which they become attached, and to wliich is added a 
large amount of excrement, thus spoiling for food much 
more grain than is actually injured. 

The moth has a wing-expanse of an inch; the inner 
third of the fore wings being a whitish gray, and the outer 
portion reddish brown, with a coppery lustre. 

The Meal Snout-moth {Pyrcdis farinaJis Linn.) (Fig. 
93) is of a light-brown color, the thorax, base, and tips of 

*"Sorae Insects Injurious to Stored Grain," U. S. Dept. Agr., 
Farmers' Bulletin, No. 45, F. H. Cliitteudeu. 



162 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

the fore wings being darker brown. The wings expand 
nearly an inch and are otherwise marked with whitish lines 
as shown in the figure. It is very similar to the last-men- 
tioned species in its habits, constructing long tabes with 
silk and particles of the food in which it is living. The 
life-history is completed in about eight weeks, and four 
generations may occur in a year. The moisture of 
*' heated^' grain is most favorable for the development of 
this pest, and it need not be feared if grain is kept in a 
clean, dry place. 

The Angumois Grain-moth. 

By far the worst granary pest throughout the South is 
the '* Fly- weevil," or Angumois Grain-moth (Sistotroga 
cerealella Oliv.). 

History. — This insect is an importation from Europe 
and receives its name from the fact that in 1760 it *^was 
found to swarm in all the wheat-fields and granaries of 
Angumois and of the neighboring provinces [of France], 
the afflicted inhabitants being thereby deprived of their 
principal staple, and threatened with famine and pestilence 
from want of wholesome bread." The insect was first 
noted in this country in North Carolina in 1730, and in 
1796 was so abundant as to extinguish a lighted candle 
when a granary was entered at night. It is essentially a 
southern insect, in the Gulf States being very injurious to 
stored corn. Of late years it seems to be moving steadily 
northward, being reported as injurious in central Pennsyl- 
vania and Ohio. Wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley, sorghum- 
seed, and even cow-peas are subject to injury. 

Life-history. — The injury is not done by the moth, as 
might be reasonably supposed from the fact that it is the 



^^ weevil'' IX GRAIN. 163 

only form of the insect usually seen, but is done by the 
snxall caterpillars which feed within the grain, where they 
may be found during the winter. The caterpillar eats to 
the surface of the kernel, but not through it, thus leaving 
a thin lid which the moth can easily push aside when it 
comes out in the spring, and then covers itself with a fine 
silken web. At this time the caterpillar is usually fully 
grown and is about one-fifth of an inch long, of a white 
color, with the head yellowish and hjirder, having six 
jointed legs in front, a series of four pairs of fleshy pro-legs 
along the middle, and another pair of soft legs at the end 
of the body. With warm spring weather the caterpillar 
changes to a pupa, and about the time that the wheat 
comes into head the adult moth emerges. As soon as it 
emerges, whether outdoors or in a barn, the moth at once 
flies to the grain-field, where the eggs are deposited. The 
exact time at which the moths emerge varies, but occurs 
some time late in May or in June. The moths quite 
closely resemble the clothes-moths often found flying about 
houses. The wings are quite narrow, and when expanded 
measure about one-half an inch from tip to tip, being of 
a yellowish or butf color, marked with black. The eggs 
are laid in the longitudinal channel on the side of the 
grain. Each female lays from sixty to ninety eggs in lots 
of about twenty each, one lot thus being about enough to 
infest the kernels of a head. The eggs hatch in from 
four to seven days. The young caterpillars are at first 
very active and soon find tender places and bore into the 
kernels, leaving almost invisible openings. These cater- 
pillars become full-grown in about three weeks, just about 
the time the grain is mature. About harvest-time the 
second brood of moths appear. These lay their eggs 



164 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



(luring July, depositing them on the ripe heads if the 
harvest be a little delayed, but on the wheat in stack if 
harvest is prompt. Usually the caterpillars hatching from 
these eggs become full-grown and remain in the grain over 
winter, but in warm seasons, especially if warm in Sep- 
tember, and when the pest is unusually abundant, a third 
brood of moths appear early in September. These lay 
another batch of eggs about the middle of September, 
depositing them upon the open ends of grain in stack or 




Fig. 94:.— Siiotrog' I cerefdelln. a, eggs; b, larva at work; c, larva, 
side view; d, pupa, e, moth;/, same, side view. (After Chit- 
tenden, U. S. Dept. Agr. ) 

mow, which thus becomes more infested than that in the 
centre. In grain stacked outside, the caterpillars of this 
brood become full-grown slowly and remain in the grain 
over winter, but if in the mow they grow faster and a 
fourth brood of moths appear about the middle of 
October, the moths being noticed in threshing. The 
insects continue to breed within doors all winter as long 
as any grain remains, though they become sluggish and 
cease feeding during a very cold spell. The number of 



WEEVIL IX rTRAIlT. 



broods is entirely dependent upon 
the latitude and weather condi- 
tions; in the South, where they 
can breed continuously, there 
being as many as eight in a year. 

Corn is frequently attacked, but 
not until it is ripe and husked, 
and then but rarely when husked 
in October and November and 
stored outdoors in slatted cribs. 
Seed-corn stored in barns, and in 
the South in almost any situation, 
is often badly injured. 

Aside from loss in weight, 
grain when badly infested becomes 
unfit for milling purposes, and 
will even be refused by cattle 
and horses, which should not be 
urged to eat it. In that case 
hogs and fowls will readily con- 
sume it. 

Remedies. — Dr. J. B. Smith, 
in an interesting bulletin upon 
this 2:>est, to which we are in- 
debted for much of the above, 
advises as follows: ''Thresh as 
soon after harvest as possible, and 
bulk in tight bins or in good 
sacks. [By ''tight bins" are 
meant those which will not per- 
mit the entrance or exit of the 
moths. ] If the grain is dry when 



Jiii|i|>v-.ir 



% (I 



O 






«^ 



o )Q 



100 IKSECTR TXJITRTOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

harvested, it may be threshed at once; if not, as soon as it 
is in good condition. If the sacked grain is infested, there 
will not be wormy kernels sufficient to heat the grain. 
The moths cannot make their way out and are stifled. 
Nothing can come in from outside and the grain remains 
safe. The threshing itself kills many of the insects and 
jars and rubs off many of the eggs. If binned, the bins 
should be tight and the grain should be tested occasionally 
for any appreciable heating. If it heats perceptibly, it 
indicates considerable infestation, and it should be treated 
with carbon bisulfide at once, used at the rate of one drachm 
per cubic foot, or one pound for 250 cubic feet bin-space.^' 
We have sometimes found two or three pounds for 100 
bushels of grain necessary, though one or one and one-half 
pounds for 100 bushels has been often recommended. The 
bisulfide should be placed in shallow plates or pans on top of 
the grain, preferably not over a ponnd in a vessel, and the 
bin should then be covered with boards, canvas, or olankets, 
and allowed to remain at least twenty-four hours. If to 
be- used for seed, it should not be left for over thirty-six 
hours; but if not, leave it forty-eight hours, wliich will do 
it no injury for food. After treating keep the grain 
covered to prevent reinfestation. 

Those having wheat unthreshed, whether in stack or 
mow, should thresh at once, and treat as above directed, 
except that if much of it is noticed to be wormy, it should 
be treated with carbon bisulfide at once, as soon as 
threshed, which if done thoroughly will prevent any 
farther infestation this year. 

Barns and storehouses should be cleaned up and freed 
from all loose and scattered grain — chickens will help in 
this — before April 1st, so that no moths will be allowed to 



'' weevil" in grain. 167 

develop and infest the grain in the field. Places where 
grain has been in shock the previous season should be 
cleaned up by the aid of chickens. Thus if there is any 
probability of grain being infested, it should be kept tightly 
covered in the spring so as not to permit the spread of the 
moths to the fields. 

Prevention of'^ Weevil.'' — Undoubtedly grain-insects can 
usually be more successfully combated by a proper housing 
of the grain. No matter how often the insects in a 
granary are destroyed, if the remainder of the barn is full 
of dust, sweepings, and refuse, as it generally is, on which 
the beetles can feed and in which they will breed, and if 
the granary is not absolutely tight, as soon as the gas 
passes off the insects from the barn will again enter the 
granary, and soon it will be as badly infested as ever. 

Cleanliness. — ^' Cleanliness will accomplish much toward 
the prevention of injury from these pests, the cause of a 
great proportion of injuries in granaries, mills, elevators, 
and other structures where grain and feed are stored being 
directly traceable to a disregard of neatness. Dust, dirt, 
rubbish, and refuse material containing sweepings of 
grain, flour, and meal are too frequently permitted to 
accumulate and serve as breeding-places for a multitude 
of injurious insects. 

"The floors or corners and walls of the barn or store- 
house should be frequently swept, and all material that 
has no commercial value burned.'' 

The Granary. — " The ideal farmer's granary, from the 
standpoint of insect ravages, should be built at some dis- 
tance from other buildings, and the rooms constructed of 
matched flooring so as to be as near vermin-proof as possi- 
ble. The doors should fit tightly, closing upon a rabbet, 



108 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

which may be covered with felt or packing, and the 
windows covered with frames of wire gauze to prevent the 
passage of insects. The floor, walls, and ceilings should 
be smooth, so as not to afford any lurking-places for the 
insects, and it would be well to have them oiled, painted, 
or whitewashed for further security. A coating of coal- 
tar has been strongly recommended for the latter pur- 
pose.^'' 

'^'The value of a cool place as a repository of grain has 
been known of old, and a building in which any artificial 
heat is employed is undesirable for grain storage. The 
'heating' and fermentation of grain, as is well known, is 
productive of ' weevil,' and this should be prevented by 
avoiding moisture and by ventilation. 

^'Tlte storage of grain in large hulk is to be com- 
mended, as the surface layers only are exposed to infesta- 
tion. This practice is particularly valuable against the 
moths, which do not penetrate far beneath the surface. 
Frequent agitation of the grain is also destructive to the 
moths, as they are unable to extricate themselves from a 
large mass, a]id perish in the attempt. The true granary- 
weevils (small dark-brown beetles with long curved snouts, 
similar to the pea-weevil), however, penetrate more deeply, 
and although bulking is of value against them, it is not 
advisable to stir the grain, as it merely distributes them 
more thoroughly through the mass." 

Destruction of " Weevil." 

Carhon Bisidjide. — '-The simplest, most effective, and 
most inexj)ensive remedy for all insects that affect stored 
grain and other stored products is the bisulfide of carbon, 
a colorless liquid, with a strong disagreeable odor, which, 



'MVEEYIL ' T^^ GRAIX. IGO 

however, soon passes away."' At ordinary temperature it 
vaporizes rapidly, forming a heavy gas, which is highly 
inflammable and a powerful poison. 

Application. — It may be applied directly to the infested 
grain or seed without injury to its edible or germinative 
principles by sj^raying with an ordinary watering-can 
having a fine rose nozzle. In moderately tight bins it is 
more effective, however, evaporating more slowly and 
diffusing more evenly, if placed in shallow dishes or pans, 
or on bits of cloth or cotton waste distributed about on 
the surface of the grain or infested material. The liquid 
volatilizes rapidly, and, being heavier than air, descends 
and permeates the mass of grain, killing all insects and 
other vermin present. 

Amount to Use. — The bisulfide is usually evaporated in 
vessels containing one-fourth or one-half of a pound 
each, and is applied in tight bins at the rate of one to 
three pounds to 100 bushels of grain, and in more open 
bins a larger quantity is used. For smaller masses of 
grain or other material an ounce is evaporated to every 
100 pounds of the infested matter. Bins may be rendered 
nearly air-tight by covering with cloths, blankets, or 
canvas. 

The amount of bisulfide to be used depends very largely 
upon the shape of the space to be fumigated. If the grain 
is in approximately a cubical form, the above amounts will 
be sufficient; but if spread out with but little depth, two 
to four or five times as much will be found necessary. 

Time to Fumigate. — '^Infested grain is generally sub- 
jected to the bisulfide treatment for twenty-four hours, but 
may be exposed much longer without harming it for mill- 
ing purposes. If not exposed for more than thirty-six 



170 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

honrs, its germinating power will be unimpaired. In open 
cribs and badly infested buildings it may sometimes be 
necessary to use a double quantity of the reagent and 
repeat treatment at intervals of about six weeks during 
tlie warmest weather." 

When possible it is always desirable to fan the grain 
immediately after fumination, thus removing the dead 
insects, and to thoroughly clean the granary before refill- 
ing it. 

" Mills and other buildings, when fonnd to be infested 
throughout, may be thoroughly fumigated and rid of 
insects by a liberal use of the same chemical. A good time 
for this work is during daylight on a Saturday afternoon 
or early Sunday morning, closing the doors and windows 
as tightly as possible and observing the precaution of 
stationing a watchman without to prevent any one from 
entering. It is best to begin in the lower story and work 
upward to escape the settling gas. The building should 
then be thoroughly aired, and the grain stirred early 
Monday morning. 

" For the fumigation of a building or a reasonably close 
room it is customary to evaporate a pound of bisulfide for 
every thousand feet of cubic space. In comparatively 
empty rooms, and in such as do not admit of being tightly 
closed, two or three times the above quantity of the chem- 
ical is sometimes necessary. 

Cauiiou. — " Certain precautions should always be 
observed. The vapor of bisulfide is deadly to all forms of 
animal life if inhaled in sufficient quantity, but there is no 
danger in inhaling a small amount. The vapor is highly 
inflammable, but with proper care that no fire of any kind, 
as, for example, a lighted cigar, lantern, or liglit of any 



'^weevil'' in^ grain. 171 

kind, be brought into the vicinity until the fumes have 
entirely passed away, no trouble will be experienced/' 

Cost. — Carbon bisulfide may be secured through any 
retail or wholesale druggist in cans of various sizes. In 
considerable quantities it may usually be secured from 
wholesale houses and manufacturers at from 8 to 10 cents 
per pound, and in smaller quantities from retailers at 15 
or 20 cents. 



CHAPTER IX. 

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CLOVER. 

Both for its value as forage and as a fertilizer, clover 
holds a peculiar place among our crops. In the Mississippi 
Valley and the Eastern States we have nothing to occupy 
its place, and without it the farmer would be at a loss to 
make a suitable rotation of crops. 

Some eighty-two insects have been noted as doing more 
or less injury to the clover-plant, but hardly a dozen of 
these can be considered as serious pests. The insects 
doing the most injury to clover have so far not become 
widely spread and are largely confined to certain States 
and latitudes. But in these sections they have often been 
exceedingly destructive, and they seem to be constantly 
spreading. 

INJURING THE ROOT. 

The Clover Root-borer {Hylastes obscurus Marsh). 

This is the only serious pest preying upon the roots, but 
on account of the difficulty with which it is fought makes 
a formidable opposition to the successful growth of the 
crop. Thus in the southern part of Michigan hardly one- 
half a crop was secured in 1894 on account of its ravages. 
Though the beetles have been well known in Europe for 
over a century, their habits there seem to be but little 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CLOVER. 173 

understood. In this country the pest has been noticed 
since 1876, when it was first found in three counties in 
western New York. Since then it has been noted as doing 
injury on Long Island and in several parts of Canada. 
Some ten years later it appeared in Michigan, and in 1894 
was found in northwestern Ohio. Thus it has not become 
very generally distributed, and seems to be confined to the 
Northern States. 

Life-Mstory. — If one tears open a ch)ver-root in an 
infested field during the winter, he will usually find the 
beetles hibernating iji the burrows. They will not be 
readily distinguished, as they are scarcely an eighth of an 
inch long and are of a reddish -l^rown color much like that 
of the burrow. With the warmer weather of spring they 
commence burrowing and feeding in the roots, and during 
the latter part of May the females deposit their eggs along 
the sides of the tunnels. The eggs are shining white, and 
are placed in the sides of the galleries and then covered 
and packed with refuse, so as to separate them from the 
rest of the burrow. In a few days the eggs hatch, and the 
small white grubs emerge and continue the attack upon 
the roots. Here they grow fat during the summer months 
and ultimately transform to pupas, which again change to 
beetles during the early fall. This life-history varies con- 
siderably, and the grubs are often found much earlier and 
the beetles much later than usual. The spread of the 
insect occurs very largely in the spring when the beetles 
fiy from field to field, seeking uninfested plants in which 
to perpetuate their kind. Their entrance is usually made 
below the surface of the ground, though sometimes the 
burrow is started from the crown of the plant. 

It has been observed that alsike clover is not so badly 



174 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



injured as the mammoth and common red, on account of 
its fibrous roots and the tendency of its tap-root to divide. 






Fig. 96.— The Clover Root-borer [Hylastes ohscurus Marsh), a, 
adult beetle; b. larva; c, pupae; d, egg; e, f, showing appear- 
ance of infested roots. (After Webster.) 

llemedics. — On account of its underground life this pest 

is not readily combated. The only remedy known is that 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CLOVER. 



175 



suggested by Prof. F. M. Webster, who advises ^^ plowing 
the infested fields as soon as the hay crop is removed and 




Fig. 96.~Contmued. 
before the larvae have advanced to the pupal stage. If the 
roots are thrown up to the hot sun and dry winds at this 
time, they will dry out and thus starve the young larvae, 



170 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



thereby preventing their developing and migrating to other 
fields." A more frequent and thorough rotation of the 
crop will thus be of value. 

Meadow-maggots. (See page 90.) 

INJURING THE STEM. 

The Clover Stem-borer [Lanyuria mozardi Fab.). 

Early in June one frequently finds the beetles of the 
Clover Stem-borer here and there in the clover-field. 
They are slender, shining beetles, about one- third of an 
inch long, with red head and thorax and bluish-black 




Fig. 97, — Clover Stem-borer {Languria mozardi). Shows the eggs 
natural size and magnified, the beetle, larva, and pupa much 
enlarged, and above, a clover-stem with the larva at work in 
it. (After Comstock.) 

wing-covers. The beetles themselves seem to do little or 
no harm. Hibernating over winter, they lay the eggs in 
the pith of the stems early in June, and the larva? emerg- 
ing from these feed upon the pith of the stem, often verj- 
seriously weakening or killing it. The larvae become full- 
grown in a short time, transform to pupa3, and the beetles 
appear by August. 

Clover is only one of a dozen food-plants of this insect, 
which is widely distributed. It rarely does any consider- 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CLOVER. 



177 



able injury where clover is regularly cut in early summer 
and fall, and need not be feared when this is not neglected. 

INJURING THE LEAVES. 

The Clover Leaf- weevil {Pkytonomus punctatus Fab.). 
The Clover Leaf -weevil is also a native of Europe, and 
made its first appearance in this country in the same sec- 




FiG. 98.— Clover Leaf-weevil iPhytono7nus punctatus Fabr.). a, egg 
magnified and natural size ; h b h b, larvae ; c, recently hatched 
larva ;^ d, head of larva; e, jaws of the same; /, cocoon; g, same 
magnified to show the meshes; 7i, pupa; ^, weevil, natural size; 
j, the same magnified; k, top view of the beetle; I, tarsus and 
claws of the beetle; m, antenna of the beetle. (After Eiley.) 

tion of western New York as the root-borer, in 1881. Its 
injuries during that and the following year seem to have 
been the worst on record, Since then it has spread east 



178 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CHOPS. 

into Connecticut, south to Mn,ryla.nd and West Virginia 
and as far west as Ohio and Micliigan. Every few years 
the weevils and larva3 destroy much of the foliage, but 
rarely are as bad the next season. The weevil is about 
one-third of an inch long, of a stout, oval form, with a 
long, thick snout. It is of a brown color, with several 
narrow gray lines above and broad gray stripes on each 
side, and with twenty rows of small, deep punctures on the 
wing-covers. 

Life-liistory. — In early fall the females lay their eggs in 
crevices among the stems near the base of the plant. The 
young larva? emerging from them are without legs, but 
manage to climb quite well by means of the prominent 
tubercles on the lower surface of the body. They are light 
yellowish green, which usually becomes deeper green as 
they grow older. The larv^ become partially grown before 
winter sets in, when they go into a dormant stage, hiding 
in rubbish or under the soil till spring, when they continue 
to feed upon the foliage and become full-grown in May 
and June. The larvae feed mostly at night and will not 
be noticed during the day, when they lie protected around 
the base of the plant. The injury done to the foliage is 
very characteristic, the edges of the leaves being eaten in 
a very regular manner as shown in the illustration. Before 
transforming to the pupa the larva constructs a very deli- 
cate cocoon of a greenish-yellow color, which is left on the 
surface of the ground. In this the pupal stage is passed, 
occupying about a month, the beetles being most common 
in July and August. The damage which the beetles do to 
the second crop of clover is fully equal that done by the 
larva3 to the first, and is more apparent, l)ecause the soil 
is then dry and the plant makes a slower growth. In 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CLOVER. 179 

some cases the beetles have been known to hibernate ovei 
winter, when the larvse would occur correspondingly 
earlier. 

Enemies. — The reason that this insect has not become a 
more serious pest is, that as often as it becomes excessively 
abundant the larvae are attacked by a fungous disease 
which carries them off by the millions. When affected by 
this they climb to the top of a blade of grass, curl tightly 
around the tip, and soon die, first becoming covered with 
a white mold and then turning to a jelly-like mass. The 
spores of the fungus become scattered to healthy indi- 
viduals, which soon succumb. Larvae affected in this 
manner may be easily recognized, and when diseased larv?e 
are found in any quantity care should be taken not to 
pasture cattle on land infested with them, as instances are 
on record in which there seems little doubt that cattle have 
been seriously poisoned by eating these diseased larvae. 

The Clover-mite (BryoUa j^ratensis). 

The S23 raying of fruit-trees for various insect-pests in 
winter has been found to be one of the best means of 
keeping in control those which hibernate or whose eggs are 
on the trees during that season. One of these is the 
Clover-mite (Bryohia jjratensis), an insect Avidely dis- 
tributed and of most variable habits. 

As its name indicates, this insect is nearly related to the 
common red spider of greenhouses, belonging to the family 
of vegetable-feeding mites [TetranycMclcB), and with which 
it is often confused. It is, however, about twice the size 
of the red spider, being fully three-tenths of an inch long. 

Though knov/n as the Clover-mite, on account of its 
feeding upon that plant, 3^et this insect was first known 



180 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

as, and is still, an important enemy of fruit-trees, more 
especially on the Pacific coast and in the Western States, 
but also in other sections of the country. The most 
injury seems to have been done to clover in the Central 
States as far south as Tennessee, though it has suffered 
somewhat even in the East. 

When attacked by the mite the leaves of the clover or 
fruit-trees become yellow and have a sickly appearance, as 




Fig. 99. — The Clover-mite {Bryohia pratensis). 

if affected with a fungous disease. Especially upon the 
upper sides of the tender leaves of clover the juices are 
extracted over irregular areas, looking more or less like 
the burrows of some leaf -mining larvse. Owing to the 
small size of the mites they may be doing considerable 
damage to the foliage and yet remain unnoticed; but in 
the egg stage the pest is much more readily detected and 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO rLOYER. 181 

attacked. In the more northern States the eggs are laid 
in the fall, and do not hatch until the next spring. 
Further south, however, the adult mites hibernate over 
winter. The eggs are of a reddish color, laid upon the 
bark of trees, especially in the crotches, and in the West 
are sometimes so thickly placed as to cover considerable 
areas two or three layers deep. When the adult mites 
leave the clover-fields in the fall to fiiul hibernating quar- 
ters upon fruit-trees for the winter, they often become 
quite a nuisance by invading dwelling-houses which are in 
their path. This is more particularly the case throughout 
the Mississippi Valley. 

liemedics. — When swarming into a house their j^rogress 
may be arrested by sjoraying the lower part of the building, 
walls, etc., with pure kerosene as often as necessary. 
Inside the house they may be destroyed by the use of 
P5^rethrum powder (Persian insect-powder), bnrning brim- 
stone, or spraying Avith benzine, care being taken not to 
brino- the latter substance near the fire. 

The only practical way of protecting clover from the 
mite is by destroying the eggs and hibernating mites upon 
the fruit-trees in winter. This may be done by burning 
all the prunings and thoroughly spraying the trees with 
kerosene emulsion diluted with five parts of water, or with 
a mechanical mixture of twenty or twenty-five per cent 
kerosene and water. Such a spraying will also protect the 
fruit-trees from the mite, and will also destroy numerous 
other insects, such as the pear-leaf blister-mite, which 
hibernates upon the trees. Such small insects, so minute 
as to usually escape notice, are often resj^onsible for a poor 
growth, and should be jiroperly checked whenever known 
to be injurious. 



182 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

The Destructive Pea-louse or "Green Dolphin" (Nectaro- 
pho7'a 2^isi Kalt. ). 

Considerable injury was done to l)oth red and scarlet 
clover by this pest in the spring of 1900 in Virginia, Dela- 
ware, and Maryland, and to crimson clover in Delaware in 
1890. In Europe the ^' Green Dolj^hin '^ has been known 
as one of the worst pests of peas, vetches, and clovers for 
the past century. The aphids leave the clover about May 
1st in the above States, and feed upon peas during the 
early summer, practically destroying the crop of late peas 
in 1899 and 1900. During October and November they 
return to the clover and pass the winter upon it. 

Many predaceous and parasitic insects prey uj^on this 
pest, but it is held in check, especially on clover, chiefly 
by a fungous disease (Empusa aphidis). This disease is 
prevented by dry weather, and hence the pest is most 
injurious in dry seasons. 

As yet no remedy for the pest on clover or means for 
prevention of injury are known.* 

INJURING THE SEED. 

The Clover-seed Midge [Cecidomyia leguminicola Lint.). 

This is also a native of western New York, where its 
first injuries were recorded in 1878, but since then it has 
spread to almost every section where clover is grown, and 
is so serious a pest that it has become quite an art to raise 
a crop of clover-seed. The parent of all this trouble is a 

*See Bull. XLIX, Del. Agr. Exp. Sta., "The Pea-louse," E. D. 
Sanderson; and Circular 43, 2d Ser., Dlv. Ent., U. S. Dept. Agr., 
F. II. Chittenden. 




Fig. 100. — The Pea-louse {Nectarophora pisi Kalt.). p, pupa; wg., 
winged viviparous female; apt., wingless, or apterous, vivip- 
arous female and newly born young, all enlarged. (Author's 
illustration in Bulletin 49, Del. Coll. Agr. Exp. Sta.) 

183 



184 



IKSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



little fly, resembling a mosquito, but only about one-tenth 
as large; so small, in fact, that it is rarely noticed. 

Life-history. — The eggs are laid among the hairy spines 
of the clover-head or beneath the bracts around the head. 
They are of a reddish color and scarcely one-tenth of an 
inch long. When the maggots emerge from them they 




Fig. 101. 



-The Clover Seed-midge {Gecidomyia leguminicola). a, 
fly; h, larva, enlarged. (After Riley.) 



enter the undeveloped florets, which they often prevent 
from flowering. In this case some of the flowers in the 
head will bloom, but the field as a whole does not blossom 
as usual. Once inside the floret the maggots feed on the 
developing seed. They are of a dark-red color, of a plump, 
oval form, and without feet. When full-grown they leave 
the florets and drop to the ground, into which they enter 
and form a little, tough, pa^oery cocoon, just under the 
surface. In it they transform to the pupa, which ulti- 
mately transforms to the adult fly. 

In the North two broods of the midge occur each year. 
The maggots of the first and principal brood become full- 
grown about the middle of June, and those of a smaller 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CLOVER. 185 

one following during July and August. White and alsike 
clover have not been molested by tlie midge to any extent, 
but good judgment and a knowledge of the habits of the 
insect are needed to harvest a crop of seed from the red or 
mammoth. 

Iieuiedies.— Two methods are in practice for controlling 
this pest. The first, well adapted for dairy farms, consists 
in pasturing the clover until the 10th or 15th of June, and 
then securing a late crop of seed. The other method is 
to cut the clover for hay before the maggots have become 
full-grown and left the flowers, and then harvest a late 
crop of seed. Usually for red clover this will be any time 
during the latter part of June, and some two weeks earlier 
for the mammoth, as the latter will not mature a crop of 
seed if left later. But the exact time for cutting must 
depend upon the latitude and season, and to secure success 
will need good Judgment on the part of the farmer. A 
good rule for red clover is to start the seed crops a few 
days before timothy-heads appear. 

The Clover-seed Caterpillar (GrapJwHtha interstinctana 

Clem.). 

The larva of a small moth known as the Clover-seed 
Caterpillar {Grai^holitha interstinctana Clem.) has also 
done serious damage to the seed in Iowa and is common 
in clover-fields elsewhere. The greenish-white larvae are 
about one-fourth of an inch long, and destroy the seed by 
gnawing through the florets at the base. The larv^ pupate 
in thin cocoons spun in the clover-head, and from them 
emerge the small brown moths, which lay eggs for another 
brood at the base of the head. Three broods occur in 
Iowa; in June, August, and September. 



18(3 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



Tlie remedies advised for the midge have also been found 
satisfactory for this pest. 




Fig. 102. — Clover Seeci-caterpillar [GrapJiolitha inter stinHana^. 
a, caterpillar; h. pupa; e, moth, all much enlarged; d, moth 
natural size. (After Osborn.) 




Fig. 103. — Clover Hay-worm (Pyra^w ^os^nf^/s). 1 and 2 show larvae 
suspended by threads; 3 represents the cocoon; 4, the pupa; 
5 and 6, the moths; and 7, larva in a case which it has spun; 
all natural size. (After Riley.) 

INJURING THE HAY. 

The Clover-hay Worm {Pyralis cost alls Fab.). 
Even after all the above pests have been successfully 
combated, another insect, known as the Clover-hay Worm, 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CLOVER. 187 

often does clover-hay considerable injury in the mow or 
stack. The caterpillars will usually be noticed toward the 
bottom of tlie stack if that part be searched in March 
or April. They are shown natural size in the illustration, 
and are of a dark-brown color, each segment being ringed 
with a band of darker brown. Hay infested by them has 
a moldy appearance from the numerous fine silken threads 
which they spin through it, often forming Avebs, and is so 
badly chewed and covered with webs as to unfit it for stock. 

Life-liistory. — The laiv^ form small silken cocoons in 
the cracks and crevices of the barn, from which the moths 
emerge early in June. As soon as the females find some 
clover-hay they deposit their eggs upon it, and from these 
the Avorms emerge and continue the destruction. Usually 
no serious injury is done except w^here clover-hay is kept 
over the second year or longer. When it is fed out each 
spring, before the next crop is harvested, there is no food 
for the young caterpillars, and they perish before the new 
crop comes in. 

Ilcmedies. — Thus these worms may be easily controlled 
by: 

1. Xever stacking clover-hay two successive seasons in 
the same place. 

2. Cleaning the mow out each sj^ring so that no old 
clover will be left over in the barn until the new comes. 

3. Never putting new clover-hay on top of old, in stack 
or mow. 

Though the clover-2:)lant has numerous and serious 
enemies, almost all of them may be controlled by sim^^le 
means, the successful use of which depends almost entirely 
upon a thorough understanding of the habits of the insect 
to be fought. 



CHAPTER X. 

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO COTTON. 

INJURING THE LEAVES. 

The Cotton-worm {AUtia xylina Say). 

Best known of all the insect enemies of the cotton-plant 
is the Cotton-worm. Though the subject of numerous 
extensive investigations, it is such an ever-present pest that 
practical information concerning those habits which must 
be considered in successfully combating it is always perti- 
nent. Let us commence, then, with the new year, and 
follow the species through the season. 

Life-history. — During the winter months the adult 
moths hibernate in the most southern portion of the 
cotton belt, principally Florida and Texas, in the rank 
wire-grass occurring in the more thickly timbered regions. 
Only a few of these survive, but they are very capable 
ancestors, and in early March lay their eggs upon ratoon 
cotton where it is only an inch or two high. The eggs 
are laid singly, usually upon the under surface of the 
leaves, preferably near the top of the plant, and about five 
hundred are laid by each female moth. They are of a 
flattened convex shape, bluish green in color, and with a 
number of prominent ridges converging to the apex. In 
midsummer the eggs hatch in three or four days, but in 
the spring and autumn a much longer period is required. 

188 



INSECTS II^JUKIOUS TO COTTON, 



189 



When first emerged from the eggs the young larvae are 
of a pale yellow color, but soon assume a greenish tmge, 
and are marked with dark spots, which become more dis- 
tinct after the first molt. Thev then become marked as 






Fig. 104.— Egg of Cotton Worm- 
moth. «, top view; h, side view; 
greatly enlarged . ( From 
Fourth Kept. U. S. Entom. 
Comm. ) 



(X b 

Fig. 105. — Cotton-caterpillar. 
a, from side; h, from above 
— t wice natural size. 
(Fourtli Rept. U. S. Entom. 
Comm.) 



when adult, being more or less striped with black and are 
distinctly greenish. During the early season the green 
worms are the more common, while later the black forms 
predominate. The appetites of these caterpillars are only 
too well known to the cotton-grower. At first they are 
content with eating only the under surfaces of the leaves, 
occasionally piercing through. Then the leaves commence 



190 



IKSECT8 INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



t') look ragged, and when these become scarce the tender 
twigs and buds are attacked. When excessively abundant, 
like the Boll-worm, the larger larvae develop cannibalistic 




Fig. 106. — Plmi^la conquisitor, one of the principal Parasites of the 
Cotton-caterpillar, a, larvae, enlarged; b, head of same still 
more enlarged; c, pupa; d, adult female enlarged; e, /, end of 
abdomen of adult male, still more enlarged. (From Fourth 
Rept. U. S. Entom. Comm.) 





Fig. 107.— Cotton Worm-moth, a, with wings expanded in flight; 
h, wings closed, at rest — natural size. (After Kiley.) 



tendencies and often feed upon the weaker caterpillars. 
It requires from one to three weeks for the larvae to become 
full-grown, during whi(di time it is necessary for them to 
shed their skins some five times. 

The caterpillar now crawls into a folded leaf, which 



INSECTS IN^JURIOUS TO COTTOX. 191 

sometimes is eaten away so that the pupa hangs exposed, 
and there sj^ius around it a silken cocoon and transforms 
to the clirysalis or pupa. In this stage the insect remains 
dormant for from one week to a month, when the adult 
moth emerges. 

The imago is of a dull olive-gray color with a wing- 
ex^^anse of about one and one-third inches, with wings 
marked as shown in Fig. 107, and sometimes with a 
j)urplish lustre. Like most of its relatives of the Noctuidm^ 
or "night-flying moths,'^ it flies only after sunset, but, 
unlike them, it is not confined to the nectar of flowers for 
foe 3, PS its mouth is peculiarly adapted to piercing the 
skin ol ripe fruit and feeding upon its tissues. They are 
strong flyers, the moths of the later broods frequently 
flying as far north as Canada. At such times they have 
been known to do serious damage to peaches in Kansas, 
and to cantaloups in Wisconsin. 

The first two broods develop rapidly, and in the extreme 
South and by early April the moths emerge and are carried 
northward by the prevailing winds. Eggs deposited by 
them develop into moths, which, in turn, fly further 
northward, and thus the worms are gradually found 
throughout the whole cotton belt, though with a consider- 
able confusion between the various broods. At least seven 
broods occur in the far South and three at the northern 
limit of the species range. With this number of genera- 
tions, it is readily perceived, considering the number of 
eggs laid by each female, how such great numbers of the 
caterpillars may arise by the latter part of the season, 
in a region where practically none remain over winter. 
The progeny of a single motli after four generations would 
amount to over 300,000,000,000 individuals, or, if placed 



192 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

end to end, at the end of the third brood there would be 
enough to encircle the earth at the equator over four times. 
Eyiemies. — It is thus very fortunate that the cotton- 
worms have many deadly enemies which commence their 
warfare upon them as soon as the first appearance of 
spring, and continue it with increasing ardor throughout 




Fig, 108. — Cotton-worm ^gg-^fivdi^ite {Tricliogramma pretiosa). a, 
adult female, greatly enlarged; h, ovipositor; c, female antenna; 
d, male antenna. (From "Fourth Rept. U. S. Entomoloi,ical 
Commission.) 

the season. A little insect which lives inside of the eggs 
and is known to science as Tricliogramma pretiosa is one of 
the most efficient of these. Mr. Hubbard once observed 
in Florida that from 75 to 90 per cent of the fourth brood 
of eggs and 90 per cent of the fifth were destroyed by this 
parasite, while only three or four eggs in a hundred 
escaped in the sixth brood. 

One of the most useful parasites of the caterpillar was 
noticed to destroy nearly all of the chrysalids of the last 



i:n^sects injurious to cotton. 193 

brood as early as 1847. The eggs of these insects are laid 
upon the caterpillars, and the maggots hatching from them 
bore into the worm and there feed upon its tissues. It 
transforms to a pupa as usual, but the pupa soon dies, and 
large numbers are thus killed. Several similar parasites 
j)rey upon the cotton-worm, among the more im2)ortant of 
which may be mentioned EuiAedrus comstocMi. It is to 
be regretted that we have no way of encouraging the good 
work of these valuable parasites. Bat the common insec- 
tivorous birds which eat large numbers of the worms, 
especially when they are yet scarce in early spring, may 
and should be protected by enacting and enforcing the 
most stringent laws against their wanton destruction. 

Remedies. — Paris green is an effectual and now widely 
used remedy for this pest. AVhen the United States 
Entomological Commission made their extensive investi- 
gations of remedies for cotton-insects in the early 80's, 
they devised some very tremendous appliances for spraying 
this upon as many as sixteen rows at once. But such 
machines have not proved practical, and it was found 
useless to attempt spraying over four rows at once. In 
fact they have never been used throughout the South in 
other than in an experimental capacity. 

Besides the general use of the dry Paris green by dust- 
ing it upon the plants as described below there have been 
several important factors which have so worked against 
the cotton-worm that the problem of keeping it in check 
is now considered ^practically solved by many authorities. 

The most important of these, and a most beneficial 
change as regarded from other than an entomological 
standpoint, is the diversification and rotation of crops, 
now coming to be more and more widely practiced by the 



194 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

progressive agriculturist of the South. This alone has 
been very largely responsible for checking the rapid spread 
of the pest. 

Now that the seed has l)econie such a valuable product 
of the cotton-plant, smaller varieties with many seeds and 
a short fibre are being grown, in contrast with the rank- 
growing, long-fibre sorts formerly preferred. Thus the 
rows are more open, the work of the worms is more readily 
detected, and remedies more easy of application. With 
these advantages in their favor, the more southern jilanters 
have come to realize the importance of destroying the 
early broods, and by doing so have been able to keep them 
in a state of comparative subjection. 

For many years the most commonly used and. experience 
has shown, effective remedy is the use of the dry Paris 
green. It is usually dusted upon two rows of plants, from 
bags fastened at the ends of a pole, and carried by a man 
on horseback, who can thus poison from 15 to 20 acres per 
day. These sacks are about ten inches long by four inches 
in diameter, open the whole length of one side and firmly 
sewed at the ends. Eight-ounce Osnaburg is the best 
cloth for the purpose. A strip of oak or strong wood 
about one and one-half by two inches, and five feet long, 
has a one-inch hole bored through it at five inches from 
each end, and to this the sack is tacked, fastening one of 
the edges of the opening to each of the narrow sides of 
the pole. The sacks are filled through the holes in the 
pole. When freshly filled a slight jarring will shake out 
a sufficient amount of the j^oison, but when nearly empty 
the pole should be frequently and sharply struck with a 
short stick, or s^^aces in the rows will be missed. The 
poison has been found most effective without the admix- 



INSECTS IXJURIOUS TO COTTO:??. 195 

ture of flour. If that be added, lighter cloth should be 
used for the sacks. 

The remedy for the cotton -worm is simple and effective. 
It simply needs careful watching, especially upon the part 
of the southernmost planters, and prompt work immedi- 
ately upon its apjDearance. 

Cutworms. 

For very few plants could a list of their insect-pests be 
made without mentioning the destructive cutworms (see 
page 214 to 217), and cotton is no exception. Their char- 
acteristic manner of cutting off the young plants at the 
surface of the soil is so familiar to every j^lanter and 
trucker that no discussion of their life-history and habits 
is here necessary. The best method for their destruction 
is by distributing through the field bunches of clover or 
grass poisoned with Paris green. This may be best done 
by spraying a patch of grass or clover with the poison, 
then cutting it, loading it on a wagon, and scattering 
bunches over the field with a fork. For best results such 
traps should be spread over the field just as the plants are 
appearing above ground, or even a day or two before; some 
care is necessary in so doing this that it will not result in 
injuring the young leaves. 

Grasshoppers. 

A much similar treatment will prove effectual for grass- 
hoppers, which frequently do considerable damage to the 
foliage. Twenty-five pounds of bran, one pound of white 
arsenic, mixed dry and then slightly moistened with water 
and cheap molasses, will form an excellent '^ mash "for 
their destruction, by placing a teaspoonful at the base of 



196 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



each plant. Some fourteen different kinds of grasshoppers 
have been known to injure cotton, but of these the Ameri- 
can Acridium (Schistocerca americana) and the Differential 
Locust (see page 69) are the most injurious. 




Fig. 109. — Granulated Cut-worm {Agrotis nnnexa). n, larva; /, 
pupa; h, adult— natural size. (After Howard, U. S Dept. Agr. ) 




Fig. 110. — The American Acridium [Schistocerca americana Scud.). 
(After Riley.) 

Caterpillars. 

Many species of Lepidopterous larva3 occasionally defoli- 
ate the cotton-plant, among the most common being the 
Bag-worm {Tliyridopteryx ejjhemerceformis), Fall Army- 
worm {Laphygma frxigiperda) (see page 84), Garden Web- 
worm (Loxostege swiilalis) (see page 260), and the Leaf- 
roller {Caccecia rosaceana). Any of these may be destroyed 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO COTTON. 



197 



by applying Paris green in a spiay or dust, as for the 
cotton-worms. 




Ftg. 111. — Garden Web-worm {Loxostege similalis). r^ larva, en- 
larged; b, side view of abdominal segment of same; c, dorsal 
view of anal segment; d. pupa; /, moth, enlarged. (After 
Riley, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 

Plant-lice {ApMclcB). 
The plant-louse which is most frequently found injuring 
the leaves of the cotton-plant is the same as the melon- 
louse {Aphis gossypii). As upon melons, its worst injury 
is done while the jDlants are yet young, and in such cases 
the best practice is to destroy the infested plants and 
replant in their place. A spray of kerosene emulsion and 
water or similar irritant will kill them, and sometimes may 
be used to advantage; but owing to the rapid and hardy 
growth of the plant, and the fact that large numbers of 
them are consumed by their insect enemies, plant-lice are 
seldom of any great importance. 

INJURING THE STALK. 

If it escapes the cutworms, the stalk of the plant will 
not be troubled further with insects, as long as it is in a 
healthy condition. Occasionally plant-bugs i^uncture the 
new growth, but such damage is rarely of importance. 
One of the boring-beetles, known as Ataxia crypt a (Fig. 
112), has been supposed to injure the stalk by boring in 



198 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



it, but investigation shows that its eggs are hiid only upon 
stalks which have already been damaged in some other 
manner. 





Fig. 112. — Cotton Stalk borer (At ixi i crypta). a, larva from above; 
b, larva from side; e, tunneled cotton-stalk showing exit-hole; 
d, adult beetle — all enlarged except c. (After Howard, U. S. 
Dept. Agr.) 



INJURING THE BOLL. 

Sharpshooters. 

Bolls are frequently damaged by leaf-hoppers, known to 
scien(3e as Homnlodisca coagtdata, which injury is termed 
"Sharpshooter work" by the planters. Usually they do 
not make their appearance till after the first of June. 
Before that they prefer the foliage of poplar and other 
shade trees near the cotton-field. Where the injuries are 
of annual occurrence it would be well to ascertain the 
trees npon which the insects are feeding, early in the 
season, and give them and neighboring nndergrowth a 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO COTTON. 



199 



thorough spraying with strong kerosene emulsion during 
May. 




Fig. 113. — Houmdodisca coagulata. a, adult female seen from above; 
b, same, side view. (After Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 

"Cotton-stainer." 

The Red Bug or Cotton-stainer [Dysdercns S7iturelhis) 
once did considerable damage to the bolls in Florida, 
Georgia, and neighboring parts of Alabama and South 
Carolina, but of late years has devoted most of its atten- 
tion to oranges. Early in the season they stunted the 
bolls and made them abortive by sucking the sap; but the 
most serious damage was done later, when they entered 
the open bolls, *' puncturing the seed and damaging the 



200 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



fibre " by their yellowish excrement. This indelible stain 
greatly depreciated the market valne of the fibre, and 
was a vexing loss. Thongli never of commerical impor- 
tance, it was found by experiments that a rich orange dye 
could be made from these insects, which could be easily 




Fig. 114. — The Red Bug or Cotton-stainer {Dysdercus suturellus) 
enlarged. «, nymph; h, adult. (From "Insect Life.") 

fixed upon silks and woolens by an alum mordant. In 
winter these insects congregate in heaps of cotton-seeds, 
and by using these as traps the insects may be killed with 
hot water. 



Several other insects attack the bolls, but never very 
extensively. Among them is a weevil {Aroecerus fascicu- 
latus) often mistaken for the Mexican Boll-weevil and 
which closelv resembles that insect. It is a '^ cosmonolitan 




^2s^. 



% 







S; 2 — Jll 



5r^iio2"^^ 



c X a t^ ^ .9 =^ 

s =i « X ,, 



.9 ^ ^ g '-5 ^ t; 






u S > Q -13 >~ 






-^ a C .= .t -. t; 



-* ^ ^ "^ 



:^ -^ P r^'^^ 2 2 I , • 
_ o^ aj^iil 5i)2 Sh^ 



II^SECTS IXJURIOrS TO rOTTO>s". 201 

insect living in the pods of various j^lants, among others 
in those of the coffee-plant in Brazil, but is never shown 
to attack healthy plants." 

Various leaf-eating caterpillars often gnaw the bolls, but 
will be destroyed by poisoning the foliage as previously 
described. 

If the Paris green be applied for the Cotton-worm, and 
the general methods advised for the control of the Boll- 
worm and Mexican Boll-weevil be followed out, little fear 
need be had of these minor insects, though a knowledge 
of the best remedies for them is always desirable in case of 
their apppearing in unusual numbers. 

The Cotton Boll-worm {Heliothis armiger Hubn.). 

The Cotton Boll-worm is one of the pests most widely 
dreaded by the cotton-grower, and differs from the Cotton- 
w^orm in that it is found in other parts of the world as well 
as America, and is not restricted to a single plant-food. 

Tlie Moth. — The adult moth is about the same size as 
the Cotton-worm moth, but has a larger body and a greater 
variety of markings. AVhen at rest the fore wings of the 
Cotton Boll-worm moth are slightly parted, while in the 
Cotton-worm moth they are closed. The Boll-worm moth 
varies much in color; both wings are bordered with dark 
bands, the wing-veins are black, and there are other black 
spots upon the fore wings. It may generally be seen about 
dark, and hides itself during the day in cow-peas and 
clover, sipping the honey from the blossoms of these and 
other honey-secreting plants, but does not, like the Cotton- 
worm moth, feed upon fruit. 

Li fe-histor I/.— It deposits its yellowish-white eggs uj^on 
all parts of the cotton-plant, but prefers the silk and 



g02 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

tassels of corn. If hatched on the cotton-plant, the worms 
attack the young buds or bolls, rapidly destroying them. 

The young worms resemble the cotton-worms, and walk 
like the familiar measuring- worms, but are darker in color. 
With age the worms exhibit great variety in appearance, 
from light green to dark brown or rose, and may be either 
striped or spotted or perfectly plain. 

The life of the insect from egg to adult averages about 
thirty-eight days, and there are usually five generations 
each year. The worms of the first brood, as a rule, appear 
about the first of May, and feed almost entirely upon the 
young leaves and buds of the corn; the second brood, 
appearing in early June, eat the tassels and forming ears 
of corn; the third brood, in July, attack the hardening 
ears. The fourth and fifth broods, appearing successively 
in August and September, appreciate the cotton as food, 
the corn having become too hard. About the middle of 
October the worms of the last brood descend into the earth 
to pupate, which state lasts from one to four weeks. 

Food. — The worm is known by various names according 
to the plant upon which it feeds, as, for instance, the 
Cotton Boll-worm, the Corn Ear-worm (see page 151), and 
the Tomato Fruit-worm. It is also foujid upon peas, 
beans, tobacco, pumpkins, squash, and many flowering 
plants. A strange but mitigating characteristic of this 
pest is its tendency to feed upon its kind, especially if 
large numbers are crowded together, thus materially 
reducing its own numbers. 

Iiemedies. — Poisoning the young worms by spraying 
with arsenic was a method formerly used, but as it proved 
only partially successful, and as another and better method 
has been discovered, it is now comparatively little used. 



IJ^SECTS INJURIOUS TO COTTON. 203 

The more effective method of keeping the insect in con- 
trol is the result of practical experience, aud consists in 
tlio wise use of what are known as trap crops. Let five 
acres be planted with cotton and corn alternately with every 
seventy-five or one hundred acres of cotton, or in the same 
relative proportion for smaller areas. Of tlie five acres, 
for every twenty-five rows of cotton let five rows be left 
vacant. In these five vacant rows plant, as early as possi- 
ble, one row of an early-maturing sweet corn, planted 
sparsely, as only a small number of plants are desired. 
During the silking jjeriod let frequent search be made for 
the yellowish-white eggs, and when fresh eggs can no 
longer be found let the silk ends of the corn covered with 
eggs and young worms be cut off and destroyed by burn- 
ing or feeding to stock; or better still, to insure perfect 
safety, let the entire plant be destroyed. Let three other 
rows be planted with dent corn so as to bring the silking 
2:>eriod about tlie first of July. The larger number of eggs 
which will be laid on these three rows should be allowed 
to mature for the preservation of the natural enemies 
which parasitize the eggs and young worms. The crowded 
condition of the worms in these rows will result in a large 
amount of cannibalism, so that only a small number will 
reach maturity, recompense for which will be found in the 
parasites. But to entrap these individuals, let the fifth 
row be planted so as to reach the silking period about 
August first, and let this row be cut and destroyed as soon 
as the laying of eggs upon it ceases. It has been found 
that the corn produced from the second planting will 
generally pay for the expense of cultivation and the sacri- 
fice of the five rows of corn. In many cases, if the other 
two be properly cared for, the third planting will not be 



204 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



5 ACRES 

CORN 

AND 

COTTON 


*^ o 


05 P 


5 ACRES 

CORN 

AND 

COTTON 


P§P 

o r 

Is 


ii 


5 ACRFS 
CORN 
AND 

COTTON 


o8 





rr 










i?; 






oi 


Q 






O 


H 






<1 


O 






g 


o 




m 






Jz; 


o O 






< 






Q 


lO 






o 




cc 


^ 






03 


O 






o 


C_( 






< 


Q 






o 


O 
















!z; 






03 


o 






o 


Eh 






ir^ 


O 




cc 






!z; 


O 


03 
O 


Q 
<! 


O 

O 


«n 






o 




Ed 


^ 






03 

o 

< 


1 






g 


o 








2:; 






f^ 


o 






r; 


H 






< 


^ 






g 


o 




f^ 






y. 




03 
O 
D 


Q 


g 

O 


ire 






o 



yj 






iz; 


03 


V^ 


Q 


p 


^^ 


(~, 




^ 


<t 


^z 




Q 


iO 






o 




r^ 


Iz; 






P< 


o 






o 


H 






< 


b 






g 


o 








^ 






rd 


(_) 






r-) 


H 






<! 


g 






S 


O 




xn 






^ 




^ 

« 




g 


< 


') 


<1 


o 


iO 






o 




^ 


t?; 






r 


o 






o 


H 
O 






g 


■J 






^1 


12; 






rr; 


o 






< 


H 

o 






g 


O 




■-/J 






Iz; 


H 
03 
O 

<!5 


03 
O 
r ) 


<1 


O 
b 


»n 






o 




03 

"1 


!?^ 






--) 


(■ J 

















'^ 






0^ 


o 






n 


H 






-«^ 


?^ 






g 


o 




gg 


S 


Iz; 


<; 


CJ 




Q 


lO 






O 




^ 


t^ 






03 


y 






C) 


H 






< 


b 






^ 


wl 






w 


o 






o 


p 








o 






o 














cc 






^ 


03 

o 


03 

o 




o 

H 

O 


in 






o 






o 






C) 


^ 






<ii 


o 






g 


o 








y. 






03 


o 






n 


H 






< 


g 






2 


O 




c/} 






"z 


^8 




o 

I: 

O 


lO 






o 



Fig. 117- — Diagram of Cotton-field showing location of trap-corn. 
(After Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



IKSECTS i:n^jurious to cotton. 205 

necessary. The entire success of this latter method of 
combating the Cotton Boll-worm depends upon careful 
observations and judicious planting, based upon a correct 
knowledge of the life and habits of the insect. 

The Mexican Cotton Boll-weevil {Aiithononms grandis 

Boh.). 

Several of the worst insect pests of the South have 
immigrated thither from Mexico. About 1890 some small 
beetles came across the Kio Grande near Brownsville, 
Texas, which so rapidly multiplied in numbers during the 
following seasons that in certain sections the crop was 
entirely ruined. As early as 1862 these insects caused the 
growers at Monclova, Mexico, to abandon the culture of 
cotton, and when they again planted it, about 1893, the 
beetles promptly appeared and destroyed the entire crop. 

At the close of 1894, an agent of the United States 
Department of Agriculture (Mr. C. H.^Townsend), sent 
especially to investigate their ravages, reported that 
between one-fifth and one-sixth cf the cotton-growing 
section of Texas was infested, there being a loss of from 
25 to 90 per cent of the crop. This meant 15 per cent of 
the whole crop of the State, 3 per cent of that of the 
United States, and in round numbers, 2 per cent of the 
world's product, with a cash value of over 68,000,000. 
The outlook was certainly alarming. 

Fortunately its worst ravages have been confined to the 
southern portion of Texas. This is largely because the 
damage done and the spread of the weevils are worst where 
the top crop is most valued, which is the condition in 
southern Texas. Its ultimate spread to other regions, 



206 



IN^SECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CEOPS. 



liowever, seems inevitable; and a knowledge of its habits 
and methods for its control are therefore not nntimely. 

The parent of all the mischief is a small, grayish beetle, 
hardly one- fourth of an inch in length, while the per- 
petrators of the worst injury are the little, fleshy grubs or 
larvte, which live and feed within the squares and bolls. 

Life-history. — Until late in December, or as long as any 




Fig. 116. — The Cotton liio\\-\\iiii\\\ (Aiit]w)io7nu8 grandisJ^dh.). a, 
adult beetle; h, pupa; c, larva — enlarged. (From "Insect Life.") 

part of the plants are green, the beetles may be found 
upon them. During the winter they hide in the rubbish 
on the field or among the weeds surrounding it, and there 
hibernate until the sunshine of early spring brings them 
forth for another season of depredation. As soon as the 
buds have formed on the volunteer plants the beetles are 
upon them and lay their eggs in the early squares. Almost 
invariably, the work of a larva hatching from one of these 
eggs causes the ''square^' infested to drop to the ground^ 
where the larva becomes full-grown, transforms to a pupa, 
and comes forth as a beetle in about four weeks in all, 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO COTTON. 



xJ07 




Fig. 118. — The Cotton Boll-weevil, a, newly hatched larva, in 
square; b, nearly full-grown larva in situ; c, pupa in young 
boll picked from ground. (After Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 




Fig. 119.— Mature Boll cut open, at left showing full-grown larva; 
one at right showing feeding-punctures and oviposition marks. 
(After Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 




208 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

Thus one or two generations develop on the vohmteer 

cotton. By the time the planted cotton is high enough 

to form squares the weevils have become quite numerous, 

and, as a result, a large portion of the squares soon drop. 

The first indication of the presence 

of the pest is by the absence of the 

blooms. The squares also drop in 

much more than ordinary numbers 

and though this might be due to 

other causes, if they are cut open 

the presence of the weevil will soon 

become apparent. Infested bolls 

are characteristically discolored and 

Fig" 120 —Late Fall P^^^ictured. '' Late in the season the 

Boll, showing how weevils themselves will be found 

beetles hide between . ^ ,i • n ^ ,i ^ -,-, 

boll and involucre, between the involucre and the boll, 

De^^^'^A Tr"^' ^' ^' ^^' ^^^ *^^®^^ absence, the feeding 
marks and the yellow, granular ex- 
crement which collects at the base of the boll are excellent 
indications.^' 

The bolls are attacked in the same manner as the 
squares, but do not drop. The weevils also do consider- 
able injury by eating into the bolls, making ugly punctures 
with their stout little snouts. Although a single larva will 
ruin a boll, as many as a dozen are often found in one. 
Thus the destruction goes on, and inasmuch as it takes 
each female several days to complete her egg-laying, by 
July the different generations or broods have become so 
intermingled that it is impossible to make a distinction. 
Not until the frosts of late fall do the weevils cease to 
breed and feed. Then they go into winter quarters, and 
almost all of the larvse are killed by the frosts. 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO COTTON. 209 

Remedies. — The following suggestions as to the best 
methods for the control of this pest have been largely 
gleaned from a forthcoming report of Mr. W. D. Hunter,* 
a special agent of the Division of Entomology, U. S. Dept. 
Agriculture, who has made an extended investigation of the 
matter daring the season of 1901 (Mar. — Dec.) and which 
comprises the previously expressed opinions of Dr. Howard f 
and his assistants, Messrs. Marlatt and Schwarz, as to the 
importance of better cultural methods for its control. 

Inasmuch as the pest is notably worst where the top 
crop is gathered late into the fall, the most obvious, and 
as the experience and investiga.tions of the past five years 
have shown, the best and most practical means for its 
control is in the entire abandonment of the top crop and 
the destruction of the plants by October, or earlier. The 
value of the late fall top crop seems to be very much over- 
estimated, as very often it hardly pays for the picking and 
in the last twenty years only four or five top crops of any 
value have been secured. As the beetles hibernate over 
winter in the bolls and among the old plants, the immediate 
destruction of the plants in the fall will destroy most of 
the weevils. The plants may be cut with a stalk-chopper 
or thrown out with a plow, and should then be burned. 
After this the plowing of infested land to the depth of 
6 or 8 inches is advisable. Tn this way all the larvfe and 
pup^e in the cotton at the time are destroyed, as well as 
many of the weevils; the adult beetles are buried by the 
deep plowing and will never again reach the surface; the 
removal of the stalks and rubbish prevents their hiberna- 

* To appear in Yearbook, U. S. Dept. Agr., 1901. 
t "The Mexican Cotton Boll-weevil," Circular 14, 3d Ser., Div. 
Eut., U. S. Dept. Agr., L. O. Howard, 



210 IXSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

tion in the field; the growth of vohmteer cotton has been 
largely prevented; and the fiekl is left clean of old stalks, 
facilitating thorongh cnltivation the following jqhy. 
** Fields treated in this way have given a practical demon- 
stration of the nsefnlness of this method.'^ (Howard, I.e.) 
Where the fields are free from grass, cattle may be tnrned 
in to graze on the green tips of the cotton and will thns 
consnme and destroy many of the beetles. Inasmuch as 
a comparatively small number of the beetles which go into 
hibernation pass through the winter alive, it is of the 
utmost importance that their numbers be reduced as much 
as possible in the fall. 

Those beetles which do winter successfully appear in the 
spring rather late and as a consequence early cotton is but 
little injured. The importance of cultivating early varie- 
ties of which the bolls develop before the pest becomes 
abundant is therefore apparent. Furthermore, early 
cotton brings by far the best prices and is usually not 
subject to serious injury by other insect pests. Plants 
efrown from northern seed seem to mature earlier than 
those grown in southern Texas. The selection and breed- 
ing of early maturing varieties is therefore of considerable 
importance in this connection. Growers in the heart of 
the badly infested regions of Texas have found that by 
merely growing early varieties they can secure a yield as 
good as the average throughout the country. 

Injury being worst on low, moist ground, it would seem 
best to reserve such land for other crops. 

^' In connection with the system of fall treatment of the 
cotton, constant and thorough cultivation of the growing 
crop is of considerable value, and is also what should be 
done to insure a good yield, AYith a cross-bar to brush 



IN^SECTS INJURIOUS TO COTTOX. 211 

the plants, many of the blossoms and squares containing 
weevils will be jarred to the ground and buried, together 
with those already on tlie ground, in moist soil, and a 
large percentage of the material will rot before the con- 
tained insects have developed.*' (Howard, I.e.) 

The advantage of controlling this and other insect pests 
by such cultural methods is at once apparent when the 
small margin of profit in the growing of cotton and the 
economic conditions incident to large areas of land being 
farmed by tenants are considered. Such cultural methods 
involve no outlay of cash, which makes any other method 
prohibitive to most tenants. There seems, also, to be a 
real danger of an overproduction of the cotton crop, and 
a diversification and rotation of crops would do much to 
solve the question of how to combat this and other insects 
of the cotton-plant. It seems certain that the control of 
this pest merely requires a better system of agricultural 
practice, as is the case with the Hessian Fly (see page 110) 
and many of our worst insects. 

On a small scale much may be done by planting the 
rows farther apart than usual. Where the rows of cotton 
are grown close together the soil between them is shaded 
from the sun and remains moist, furnishing the best con- 
dition for the develojoment of the larvae in the fallen 
squares. Where rows are farther apart the soil is heated 
by the sun to such an extent as to kill large numbers of 
the larvae. That the rows are usually placed too close for 
the proper growth of the cro]) has been demonstrated by 
several agricultural experiment stations. It has been 
shown that in spite of the much smaller number of plants, 
one-fourth more cotton can be secured from rows five feet 
apart than from those three feet apart. 



212 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

Upon small areas the application of Paris green by 
spraying the volunteer plants as they appear in the spring, 
and two or three times during the next two weeks, will 
greatly check the increase of the pest. The young tips 
are the parts which should be most thoroughly sprayed, 
and as the number of volunteer plants will not be very 
great, such spraying will not require much time. The 
solution used should be as strong as one pound of Paris 
green to fifty gallons of water, as it does not matter if the 
volunteer plants are killed by it. Volunteer plants appear- 
ing in deserted cotton-fields or corn-fields should be 
destroyed as far as possible. 

Picking up the fallen squares and burning them is urged 
by Prof. Mally* as one of the best means of fighting it. 
He records that one cotton-grower *'who had fourteen 
acres of old land in cotton, picked up his squares faithfully 
and made seven bales. His neighbor, who is conceded by 
all to be the better farmer, had an adjoining field of 
twenty-five acres of cotton, but did not gather and burn 
his squares, made two bales. ^^ He states that eleven 
negroes picked up the squares on ninety acres between 
9 A.M. and 6.30 p.m., at a cost of 18.00, or less than 10 
cents per acre. The squares should be jDicked up every 
ten days or two weeks. This method is only practicable, 
however, upon small areas. 

But few insect parasites seem to infest the larvae and 
but little aid can be hoped from them. Quail and turkeys 
have, however, been reported as eating large quantites of 
the weevils and being most beneficial. 



* "The Mexican Cotton Boll-weevil," Farmers' Bulletin No. 130, 
U. S. Dept. Agr., F. W. Mally. 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO COTTON. 213 

The Mexican Cotton Boll-weevil is only one of the many 
insect pests which are becoming permanent factors in 
agriculture and which are forcing the American farmer to 
adopt better agricultural methods, which, if generally 
practiced, would result not only in their control, but cause 
less drain upon the soil through a better rotation of crops, 
and better crops as a result of more constant and thorough 
cultivation. 



CHAPTEK XL 

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO TOBACCO. 

It would hardly be supposed that a plant like tobacco, 
which when dried is used as an insecticide, would be 
troubled with many insect enemies, and experience has 
shown this to be very largely a fact, as only three or four 
insects are recognized as what might be termed '' standard 
pests ^^ of tobacco throughout the country, though an 
equal number, whose injuries have not been especially 
noticed hitherto, have been coming into prominence m 
various sections in recent years; yet the few insects which 
do attack tobacco, if left to themselves, are entirely capable 
of doing a vast amount of damage; for that which would 
be considered but a slight injury to other plants means a 
considerable loss in the sale of a tobacco-crop with imper- 
fect leaves. 

I]SrJURING THE TOUN^G PLANETS. 

Cutworms. 

To begin with, as soon as the plants are set out they are 
attacked by those old foes of the farmer, with which he 
has to contend in the growing of almost every truck and 
garden crop, the Cutworms. The cutting of the stems of 
the young plants by these worms often necessitates replant- 
ing, sometimes a second time. This injury is especially 

214 



INSECTS INJUKIOUS TO TOBACCO. 



215 



severe where a croj^ of grass or clover has been turned 
under as a soil crop in the spring and there furnishes a 
good supply of food for the cutworms till the tobacco is 
set out. Not only is this replanting expensive and tedious 
itself, but it makes the crop mature nnevenly and thns 
entails unnecessary expense in handling. 

Description and Life-ldstory. — Under the general term 
*' cutworms" we commonly designate the larvae of several 
species of moths, which are very similar in general appear- 
ance and habits. Both the moths and larvae are readily 




Fig. 121. — Greasy Cutworm {Agrotis ypsilon), one of the Tobacco 
Cutworms, a, larva; 6, head of same; c, adult— natural size. 
(After Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 

distinguished by one familiar with them. Though the 
life-histories of the different species vary more or less, still 
they are so much alike that they may be readily described 
as a class. Of those attacking tobacco, the Greasy Cut- 
worm [Agrotis ypsilon) and Grannlated Cutworm (Agrotis 
annexa) are among the most common. The adults of 
cutworms are moths with dark fore wings, variously 
marked, which are folded over the back when at rest, and 



216 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

with lighter hind wings, as shown in the illustration — 
natural size. Like the cutworms, they feed at night, 
sipping the nectar from flowers, and the family to which 
they belong has therefore been named the Noduidce. As 
a rule there is but a single brood of worms in a season, 
though a second one is not unusual. The female moths 
lay the eggs on stones, leaves, trees, etc., almost any place 
where the ground is well covered with vegetation, so that 
the young worms can readily find food. They are usually 
deposited during midsummer and the larvae become par- 
tially grown before winter, when they hollow out an oval 
cell in the earth, curl up, and hibernate till spring, seem- 
ingly unaffected by freezing. The next spring, after their 
long fast, the young vegetation is eaten with sur^^rising 
voracity. When full-grown a cutworm is of a dull 
brown, gray, or greenish hue, generally marked with 
longitudinal stripes, oblique dashes and dots, and is from 
one and one-fourth to two inches long. The head and 
segment back of it are reddish brown and horny. There 
are eight pairs of legs; the first three jointed and ta^^ering, 
the last five short and stout. As soon as full-grown tlie 
worm enters the earth to pu23ate, and from the pupa 
transforms to the adult moth from late July to early 
August. Though besides the larvae all the other stages are 
known to sometimes hibernate over winter, nevertheless 
the life-cycle is usually so that the worms are hungry for 
the young spring plants, and though numerous during the 
whole season, it is during the spring that their devastation 
is worst and most noticed. 

Re^nedies. — From the habits above outlined it may be 
seen that much can be done to exterminate these pests by 
a thorough cultivation of the land to be planted, during 



INSECTS I?TJURIOUS TO TOBACCO. 217 

the spring, thus depriving the worms of any food during 
that time. Tlie most successful method yet found for 
destroying the worms is in the use of a poisoned bran 
mash. This is composed of forty parts of wheat-bran, 
two quarts of cheap molasses, and one pound of Paris 
green, with enough water to thoroughly moisten the 
whole. The bran and Paris green should be thoroughly 
stirred together while dry and the molasses diluted with 
water, and then poured on and stirred in. The land 
where the tobacco is to be set out should be prepared 
several days before. Then drop about a tablespoonful of 
the mash near each hill, doing this from three to five days 
before the plants are set out, and as near evening as possi- 
ble. Chickens, etc., should be kept out of the field for 
several days. The cutworms are attracted by the smell of 
the molasses and seem to relish the mash, coming out of 
the ground and making a liberal meal upon it — a meal 
which almost always proves fatal. This remedy is at once 
simple and inexpensive and has been found most satisfac- 
tory by growers who have used it. Any other arsenite 
could be used instead of Paris green, though the amount 
used would A^ry according to the strength of the poison. 

The Tobacco Stalk-worm {Crambus caligino melius). (See 
page 130.) 

Prof. W. G. Johnson* has found this species, also known 
as the Corn-root Web-worm, to be a serious pest to grow- 
ing tobacco-plants in southern Maryland, where it seems 
to have been a tobacco-pest for at least fifteen years, and 
it has also been noted in Delaware. 

The Injury. — The injury to tobacco is described by 
•^ Bull. 20, n. s., U. S. Div. Ent., U. S. Dept. Agr., pp. 99-101, 1899. 



218 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

Prof. Jolinson as follows: ''The uninjured tobacco liad a 
leaf- spread of from ten to twelve inches. A few rods 
beyond, where the soil was not so gravelly and better, we 
found the larvae had literally destroyed the first and second 
plantings, and were at work upon the third, damaging it 
severely, although the ground had been replanted before 
the last planting. Here and there was a young plant just 
beginning to wilt, and invariably we found the larva at 
work either in the stalk or at the base of the plant just 
below the surface of the ground. So far as I could ascer- 
tain the attack is always at the surface or just below. In 
many instances the larva? had hollowed out the stalks from 
the base of the roots to the branches of the first leaves: 
Many plants were gnawed irregularly around the stalk 
below the surface, and some, in fact, were completely cut 
off at the surface, the insect always working from below. 
In the great majority of cases the larvae were found in a 
small mass of web near the plant, and sometimes within 
it. In one plant, less than six inches high, we found four 
larvffi within the stalk, but as a rule only a single one was 
present. '' 

Prof. Johnson concluded " (1) that it is most likely to 
occur over local areas in tobacco following timothy or 
grass; (2) that the character of the soil has little or noth- 
ing to do wfth its ravages; (3) that the attack upon corn 
is also a frequent occurrence in the same section, especially 
when following grass or timothy." 

Remedies. — He recommended "(1) that growers of 
tobacco avoid planting upon grass or timothy sod; (2) 
that where grass land is plowed down it would be well to 
put it in wheat, following with clover, before tobacco. If 
desirable, corn could follow the grass and the land could 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO TOBACCO. 219 

be seeded in crimson clover at tlie last working. This 
would serve a twofold object by revealing the exact location 
of larvffi in the area tinder cultivation by their attack upon 
corn, when they could be destroyed largely by frequent 
harrowing and rolling, and by affording a most excellent 
soil croj) to turn down the following spring, which would 
be a decided advantage to the tobacco; that if it is found 
necessary to have tobacco following grass, it should be 
broken in the spring as early as possible, and frequently 
rolled and harrowed, at the same time delaying the setting 
of the plants as long as possible in order to destroy and 
starve the larva3 within the ground. '^ 

INJURING THE STEM. 

The Spined Tobacco-bug (EuscMstus variolarius). 
Prof. H. Garman has found a small bug, which he has 
termed the Spined Tobacco-bug, doing more or less injury 
to plants in Kentucky, and as this insect is widely dis- 
tributed throughout the country, it probably does more or 
less damage elsewhere, though never a serious pest. Con- 
cerning its work, he says:* ^' Occasional plants in tobacco- 
fields are at times observed to have become suddenly 
wilted, the leaves hanging limp, much as if the stalk had 
been severed. After a time they recover again, and, beyond 
a temporary check on their growth, nppear to have suffered 
but little injury. If such i3lants are searched carefully 
while still wilted, a flat, brown bug with each side of the 
body produced into an angle, or sharp spine, will be found 
upon the stalk along the base of the leaves. It is very shy 
and keeps out of sight, hence any brisk movement on the 
injured plants is likely to cause it to drop to the ground 

* Bulletin No. 66, Ky. Agr. Exp. Sta., p. 33. 



220 



IXSECTS IXJUKIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



and conceal itself/^ Those insects are true bugs, sucking 
tlieir food through a beak, which is bent under the body 
between the legs when not in use. They are about half 
an inch long, of a drab color above and greenish or 
yellowish below. Usually only one bug is found on a 
plant, so that the best way to prevent the injury is to 
pick them from the plants, and keep down such weeds as 
thistles and mulleins, upon which such insects feed, in 
the adjoining fields. 




Fig. 122. — EuscMstus variolarius. Nymph at left; adult at right — 
enlarged. (After Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



IXJCRING THE "BUD." 

Bud-worms (Heliothis armiger and rltexice). 

Before the leaves of the tobacco have unrolled they are 
subject to the attacks of two larva?, known as "Bud- 
worms.'" Though the adult moths of these two insects 
are very different in appearance, the larva? are much alike. 

The Corn- worm, Cotton Boll-worm, or Tomato-worm 
{Heliothis armiger), as it is called in different sec- 
tions, is well known to all growers of these crops 
and needs no extended description. Corn is the favorite 
food of these worms, on which they first riddle the leaves 



IIS^SECTS INJUKIOUS TO TOBACCO, 221 

and then bore into the forming ear, but as the corn 
hardens they leave it for cotton, tobacco, etc. When 
an abnndant food-supply of corn or cotton is not found 
by them during the early part of the season, they 
turn to tobacco. On tobacco the moths deposit their 
eggs in the buds, and when the larv^ emerge from them 
a few days later, they do very serious injury by eating 
the unrolled leaves, boring iuto the bud, which may 
be entirely consumed by a large worm. As the leaves 
grow, these holes become larger, and the leaves are thus 
ruined for the best grade of tobacco. The later broods 
seem to prefer the unripened seed-capsules, and eating 
into them they devour the immature seed. From two 
weeks to a month are required for a larva to become full- 
grown, when it descends into the ground and constructs a 
loose silken cocoon just below the surface. In this it 
transforms to the pupa, or chrysalis, and remains dormant 
for from one to four weeks, when the adult moth emerges. 
The moths are about the same size and belong to the same 
family — Nockiidce — as those of the Cutworms. The color 
varies from dull ochre-yellow to dull olive-green; both 
wings are bordered with dark bands; the wing-veins are 
black, and there are several other dark markings on the 
fore wings. Throughout the cotton-belt there are four or 
five broods during a season, but fewer farther north, the 
number depending upon the latitude and season. 

Another species of this genus {Reliothis rliexics) has 
been found to be more common in Kentucky, and, as it is 
not known to attack any other cultivated plant, is known 
as the "Tobacco Bud-worm." Both species are usually 
found where tobacco is raised and in Florida the Corn- 
worm (i/". af'Du'ger) is the most injurious. They are alike 



222 



i:n^sects injurious to staple chops. 




Fig. 123. — The True Bud-worm ( HeliotMs rhexicB). a, adult moth; 
b^ full-grown larva, from side; c, same, from above; d, seed- 
pod bored into by larva; e, pupa — natural size. ' (After How- 
ard, U. S. Dept. AgT.) 




Fig. 124.— False Bud-worm or Cotton Boll-worm {HeliotMs ar- 
miger). <(, adult moth; h, dark full-grown larva; c, light-col- 
ored full-grown larva; d, pupa— natural size. (After Howard 
U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



INSECTS INJUKIOUS TO TOBACCO. 



223 



in their habits and depreciations upon the tobacco-plant. 
The original food-plant of rhexia is probably one of our 
common weeds such as the horse-nettle, which should 
therefore be kept cut down along the edges of the tobacco- 




FiG. 125. — Larva of Bud-worm {Heliothis armiger.) Showing work 
on seed-capsules of tobacco-plant. (After Quaintance.) 

fields and in those adjoining. The moths of this species 
are quite different from those of armiger, the fore wings 
being of a sea-green color, crossed by three white bands, 
and the hind wings white with a dark margin. Only one 
or two broods occur during a season. 

Eemedies. — Poisoned corn-meal has been found to be a 



224 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

sjitisfactory remedy for both species. Into a quart of finely 
ground corn-meal, a half teaspoonful of Paris green is 
thoroughly mixed by stirring, and sprinkled on the buds 
from a can perforated like a pepper-can. This should be 
applied frequently, especially after heavy rains. Large 
buds should be opened and a pinch of the poison placed 
within. When sj^raying with Paris green is practiced 
against the Horn-worm, it will also be of service against 
the Bud-worms. When the Corn-worms are the more 
common species, it would seem that the use of strips of 
corn used as a catch crop, as used in j^rotecting cotton from 
the same insect, would be of value. By planting a row of 
corn here and there around the tobacco-field, the moths 
will j^referably deposit their eggs upon it, and it can then 
be cut and a large part of the injury to tobacco thus pre- 
vented. 

INJURING THE LEAVES. 

The Suck-fly {DicypliKS minimus Uhl. Mss.). 

As tobacco has become more generally grown in Florida, 
a small bug known to the planters as the " Suck-fly" has 
become increasingly injurious, until it is now considered 
as the worst insect pest of tobacco in many parts of that 
State. So far as known it has not been recorded as 
injurious elsewhere, though it has been noticed in Florida 
plantations for at least ten years. 

Life-history. — The adult is a small bug about one-eighth 
of an inch long, with rather long, yellowish-green legs. 
The upper surface of the insect is black, except the front 
margin and a central stripe of yellow on the first segment 
back of the head, while the under side is greenish. The 
wings are folded over the back when at rest. The '' files" 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO TOBACCO. 225 

become numerous enough to be injurious during the first 
two weeks in June, usually being first noticed in one 
corner of a field, from which they rapidly spread over the 
whole. The eggs are deposited singly, in the tissues of 
the leaf, mainly on the smaller veinlets, and hatch in 
about four days. The young nymphs at once attack the 
foliage, and after molting about four times transform to 
adults about eleven days later. The full-grown nymphs 
are of the same general aj^pearance as the adults, except 
that the wings are still undeveloped and form small wing- 
pads, but are of a greenish color. As it requires but a 
fortnight for the development of a brood, these insects 
multipiy very rapidly and in a few weeks become so 
numerous as to seriously damage the foliage, hundreds of 
them being found on a single leaf. The injury is done by 
their inserting their small beaks into the tissue of the leaf 
and sucking the juices, causing the leaf to become yellowish 
or wilted, and cracking older leaves so that they become 
ragged. "Experienced growlers say that the leaves badly 
infested with the Suck-fly are very difficult, if not impossi- 
ble, to properly cure.''^ The weather plays an important 
part in the control of this pest. ''According to an 
observant grower, * an important factor in bringing about 
their disappearance has been the absence of rain during 
the latter part of August and early September. The sticky 
exudation from the glandular hairs of the tobacco-plant 
causes many of these insects to become stuck to the leaf 
and in this way a great many are killed. Frequent showers 
keep this washed off to a considerable extent, and thus 
favor the insects.^ ^' (Quaintance.) A veritable fly-trap ! 
Remedies.- — In experimenting with insecticides for this 
pest. Prof. Quaintance has found, curiously enough, that 



226 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



the only ones fatal to it are preparations of its own food — 
tobacco. A solution of one part of ''Mkoteen" to sixty 
of water is a very satisfactory remedy. This insecticide 




Fig. 126.— The Suck-fly {DkypJius minimus), a, uewly hatched; 
b, second stage; c, nympli; d, adult; e, head and beak from 
side— enlarged. (After Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 

is a concentrated solution of nicotine and is manufactured 
by the Scabcura Dip Co., Union Stock Yards, Chicago, 
111. It should be sprayed over the plants, using a bent- 



IKSECTS INJURIOUS TO TOBACCO. 227 

necked nozzle which will throw a fine mist upon both the 
npper and nnder surfaces of the leaves, as most of the 
3'Oung are on the lower surfaces. Where refuse tobacco is 
at hand a good decoction can be made by boiling it at the 
rate of one pound to a gallon of water for an hour, then 
draining off, and straining well before spraying. This 
will not keep for more than two or three days before fer- 
menting, but where it can be used at once is less expensive 
than " Nikoteen.'' The spraying should be done early in 
the day, when the adult bugs are sluggish and do not fly 
readily. Keep a sharp Avatch for the ''flies" early in 
June, and by attacking them upon their first appearance 
they may be kept from spreading and be destroyed before 
they have done much injury and much more readily than 
when more numerous. 

MINII^TG THE LEAF. 

The Tobacco Leaf-miner (GelecJiia solanella Boisd.). 
The larva of a small moth has become quite injurious in 
parts of North Carolina and Florida by mining the inside 
of the leaf, and is thus known as the Tobacco Leaf -miner. 
This insect occurs in other parts of the country, but has 
become injurious only in the States named and in recent 
years. The injury is done by the larva3 eating out irregular 
patches of the tissue in the leaves, leaving only the upper 
and lower surfaces, the lower leaves being infested the 
worst. The leaves are rendered unfit for wrappers, split- 
ting and tearing very easily on account of these blotches. 
A larva does not confine its work to one place, but makes 
several mines, and a single larva may thus destroy the value 
of a leaf for wrapping purposes. This migratory habit is 
of considerable importance, as in leaving the old and in 



228 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



making new mines the larvae must necessarily eat a certain 
amount of the surface of the leaf, and can thus be killed 
by an arsenical spray. The life-history of the insect is 
not com23letely known, but as only about twenty days are 
required for all its transformations, several broods probably 
occur during a season. The original food-23lant of this 
pest has been found to be the common horse- or bull-nettle 
{Solanum carolineiise), which fact further emjDhasizes the 




Fig. 127. — Tobacco Split-worm. Adult moth above; larva below at 
right; pupa below at left, with .side view of enlarged anal seg- 
ment — all enlarged. (After Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 

caution already given, to keep all weeds carefully cut down 
around the tobacco-field, especially those nearly related to 
tobacco botanically. Many planters destroy the larvae by 
sim2:)ly crushing them with the hand, and this can be done 
quite rapidly, and if done before the mines become numer- 
ous should be sufficient to check the injury. Where 
spraying with Paris green is practiced against the Horn- 
worm it should be sufficient to destroy most of the miners, 
as, if the leaf is thoroughly coated with poison, they would 
get a fatal dose in starting a new mine. 



IKSECTS IN"jrRIOUS TO TOBACCO. 



229 



The Tobacco Flea-beetle {Epitrix parnda Fab.). 

The Tobacco Flea-beetle is one of 
the insects Avhich has become in- 
creasingly injurious upon tobacco- 
leaves in recent years. So far as 
recorded its injuries have been no- 
ticed only in the northern part of 
the tobacco-belt, viz., Kentucky, 
Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, and 
Connecticut. The leaves are dam- 
aged by having small holes eaten in 
the upper or nnder surfaces, or some- 
times clear through them. When 
badly eaten the leaves appear as if 
pe25pered with shot, the injury being 
especially severe to young plants. 
The adult beetles which do this in- 
jury are very small, hardly more 
than one-twentieth of an inch long, 
of a light brown color, with a dark 
band across the wing-covers. A few 
of them could do but little injury, 
but they soon increase until they 
swarm over the leaves and injure them 
badly. The life-history of this sj^ecies 
has not been studied until recently 
and is not yet well known. Mr. F. 
H. Chittenden has ascertained that 
the larvae feed habitually upon the 
roots of the common Nightshade and 
Jamestown Aveed. These are undoubtedly the usual food 




Fig. 128. — Work of 
Split-worm— reduced. 
(After Howard, U. S. 
Dept. Agr.) 



230 



IK^SECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



of the larvae, as of the nearly allied Potato Flea-beetles 
{E. ciicum er is and fnscula), but when the beetles become 
more numerous the larvae sometimes feed upon tobacco- 
roots, doing them more or less damage, but generally not 
to a noticeable extent. The breeding of this insect upon 
these common weeds further emphasizes the caution 




Fig. 129. — Tobacco Flea-beetle {Epitrix parvuli). n, adult beetle; 
h, larva, lateral view; c, head of larva; d, posterior leg of same; 
e, anal segment, dorsal view; /, pupa — <(, b, /, enlarged about 
fifteen times; c, d, e, more enlarged. (After Chittenden, 
U. S. Dept. Agr.) 

already given in previous chapters to see that they are kept 
cut down. Spraying with Paris green as advised for the 
Horn-worm will also keep this insect in check. 

Grasshoppers. 

Grasshoppers have often been known to eat tobacco- 
leaves quite badly. Of these, our most common species, 
the Red-legged Locust [Melanophis femur-ruhriiiii), has 
been recorded most often. If the plants have been sprayed 
with Paris green, it will usually be sufficient to prevent 
serious injury by grasshoppers. If tliey are very numerous, 



INSECTS IXJURIOrs TO TOBACCO. 



231 



however, a bran mash such as advised for use against Cut- 
worms will be found attrac- 
tive to them. A tablespoon- 
ful placed at the base of 
each plant will be sufficient 
to jDrove fatal to the locusts. 

The Horn-worm or Tobacco- 
worm [Protoparce celeus, 
P. ccu'olina). 

Of all the insects feeding 
upon tobacco, this one is the 
most injurious and conse- 
quently most generally 
known. In many sections 
on account of its damage to 
that plant it is also known 
as the Tomato-worm. It 
may be well to first state, 
however, that two species 
of insects are ordinarily in- 
cluded under this popular 
name. The Northern To- 
bacco-worm is the more 
common form in many of 
the more northern parts of 
the tobacco-belt, especially 
in Connecticut, though it 
is generally found wherever 
tobacco is extensively grown 

in the United States. The Fig. 130.— Tobacco-leaves dam- 
^ ^- _, , . _, 2igedhy Epitrixparvula. {Midi 

Southern Tobacco-worm (P. Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 




232 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



(■(croIiiKf) Jilso occurs throughout all tlie tohacco-producing 
States and is usually much the more common form in 




the South. The life-history and habits of these insects 
are so nearly alike that they may be discussed together. 
The larva? of the northern form may be distinguished from 



IN^SECTS IXJURIOUS TO TOBACCO. 233 

the southern Ijy tlie V-shaped markings along the sides, 
those of the hitter being simple oblique bands. The 
differences between the moths are well shown in the 
illustrations. 

Life-liistory. — The pu^^aB from which these moths 
emerge in May and June remain in the ground over 
winter. The females then dei30sit their eggs, singly, upon 




Fic4. 132.— Southern Worm killed by Fungus. (After Garman.) 

the low^er surfaces of the tobacco-leaves, Avhich hatch out 
in three days. The way in which the young worms now 
attack the tobacco foliage is well known to every grower. 
During their growtli, which occupies about three weeks, 
the worms molt some five times. They then transform to 
2iupa3, in which state they remain about three weeks, when 
the adults emerge and the same life-cycle — occitpying about 
six weeks — is repeated. The first brood of w^orms usually 
does not do very serious damage, the one in July being 
that against which the planter's attack should be directed. 
Usually three broods occur in a season, sometimes but two 



234 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



in the North Jind four in the South. Occasionally the 
worms are overlooked in cutting the tobacco and do con- 




siderable injury to it even after it has become partially dry 
in the barn, though there is little excuse for this. 

Remedies. — The oldest and most common method of 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO TOBACCO. 235 

controlling this pest is that of hand-picking. This is, 
however, both tiresome and expensive. I am informed 
that in southern Maryland this task is willingly done by 
large flocks of turkeys, which are kej^t largely for that 
purpose and fed on little else during the time the worms 
are most numerous. 

In many parts of Kentucky a spray of Paris green has 
been used against the Tobacco-worm. Against this there 
has been more or less of a popular prejudice on account of 
possible poisoning. Such a prejudice having also existed 
against the use of this well-known arsenite upon apples 
for the Codling-moth and on numerous other crops, and 
with no deleterious results, it seems safe to assume that 
such a prejudice is unfounded. Nevertheless Prof. H. A. 
Garman has made a careful test of such spraying, and 
plants sprayed were analyzed by Dr. A. M. Peters, chemist 
of the Ky. Agr. Exp. Station, who found that the amount 
of arsenic left on leaves sprayed three times with a solution 
of one pound of Paris green to 160 gallons of water would 
not be sufficient to be injurious to the consumer. In tlie 
numerous tests made, one-third of a grain of' arsenic per 
pound of tobacco was the most ever obtained, and would 
hardly be injurious. Prof. Garman (Bulletin No. 63, Ky. 
Agr. Exp. Station) also made thorough tests as to the 
efficiency of this method of controlling the worm, which 
he found to be entirely satisfactory. Usually it will not 
be necessary to sj)ray over three times, if applied at the 
proper time. The time of these applications will vary for 
different latitudes and seasons, but should be made as soon 
as the young of each brood make their appearance. In 
general tliis will be early in July, early August, and middle 
or late August, One pound of Paris green to 160 gallons 



236 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

of water is strong enough if properly applied, and in no 
case should it be used stronger than one pound to 125 
gallons. The best way of applying the mixture is by 
means of a knapsack-pump, and both surfaces of the leaves 
should be sprayed. 

Florida growers have used the arsenite of lead to some 
extent,, dusting it on the plants dry, by means of a bellows 
or powder-gun, such as is manufactured by Leggett Bros. , 
301 Pearl St., New York. It is a white powder, more 
insoluble than Paris green, but it will not burn the foliage 
as readily. It is also more adhesive when thus applied, 
remaining on the foliage for eight or ten days. 

A method for killing the adult moths has been satisfac- 
torily practiced for many years. It consists in 2)oisoning 
the flowers of the Jamestown weed (Datura stramoniuw) 
with a sweetened cobalt solution. The flowers are placed 
around the fields in the evening, being set upright in holes 
of horizontal slats, or supported by sticks. The cobalt 
solution is then introduced into them by means of a quill. 
It is composed of — cobalt, one ounce; molasses, one-fourth 
of a pint; water, one pint. In their search for flowers 
the moths will be attracted by the odor of the molasses and 
the cobalt of the solution will poison them, and thus j^re- 
vent the females from laying some two hundred eggs 
toward another brood. 

Enemies. — There are also several insects which tend to 
keep this pest in check by parasitizing it, and about which 
many growers do not seem to be well informed. Worms 
covered with what seem to be small white eggs are always 
common. They are not eggs, however, but the cocoons 
of a small hymenopterous insect whose larvae feed upon 
the worm internally and thus ultimately kill it before it 



IXSECTS INJURIOUS TO TOBACCO. 237 

becomes full-grown or transforms to the pupa. Such 
parasitized worms should never be destroyed, as the para- 
sites are of more value than the damage the worm might 
do (Fig. 134). 



^^y^ 




Fig. 134. — Southern Tobacco-worm with Cocoons of Parasite. 
(After Garman.) 



IN'JURIJ^'G STORED TOBACCO. 

The Cigarette-beetle {Lasioderma serricoriie Fab.). 

Even after the crop has been cured and has been packed 
away, sometimes for years, it is subject to the ravages of 
the larvae and adults of a small beetle, called the Cigarette- 
beetle. This pest also infests numerous other stored 
products, household goods, upholstery, etc. The beetle 
is but one-sixteenth of an inch long, of a brownish color, 
with the prothorax bent under in front so that the head is 
obscured as under a hood. The pupal stage is passed in a 
delicate cocoon; the whole life of the insect being spent 
in the infested goods. 

Remedies. — Infested tobacco should be opened up, if 
packed tightly, placed in tight boxes, or a tight room, and 
exposed to the fumes of carbon bisulfide, using it the same 
as for grain-insects. This liquid is very volatile, giving 
off a g-as heavier than air and fatal to all insect life. The 
quantity used would depend upon the tightness of the 



238 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



enclosure aud the way in which the tobacco is packed. 
One ounce to every fifty cubic feet of enclosed space will 
doubtless be ample. This should be placed in shallow 
vessels on top of the tobacco and allowed to remain for 
twenty-four hours. No injury will be done the tobacco, 




CL o e 

Fig. 135. — The Cigarette-beetle, a, larva; h, pupa; c, adult; d, 
side view of adult: e, anteuna — all greatly enlarged; e, still 
more enlarged. (After Chittenden, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 

but care should be taken in the use of this chemical that 
no light, cigar, etc., be brought near it, as it is highly 
combustible and such carelessness might cause a serious 
conflagration. 

Hydrocyanic acid gas has recently been used very suc- 
cessfully by Prof. W. G. Johnson in ridding some large 
tobacco warehouses of this pest. 



CHAPTER XII. 
INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE POTATO. 

in^juki:n'g the tubers. 

Potato-scab and Insects. 

That certain forms of what is commonly termed '^potato- 
scab " are due to the work of insects has frequently been 
shown. In 1805 Prof. A. D. Hopkins, of the West Virginia 
Agr. Experiment Station, reported some very careful orig- 
inal investigations upon two species of giiats, Ejndajms 
scabies Hopk. and Sciara sp., the larvae of which had been 
conclusively shown to cause a scab upon the tubers by 
boring into them. He found that " they breed in and are 
especially common in barnyard-manure," that "^'excessive 
moisture in the soil has been observed to be the most favor- 
able condition for their development," and that ''soaking 
the seed-potatoes in a solution of corrosive sublimate 
previous to planting" will kill all the eggs and young 
larvae, as it will also destroy the spores of the potato-scab 
fungus. 

Prof. A. H. Garman has also recorded the injuries of 
several species of millipedes, or "thousand-legged worms," 
Camhala anmdata and Parajulus iinpressns, as causing a 
scab by gnawing into the surface of the tubers. Though 
both of these observations are unquestionably true, they 

8^9 



240 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

have not been verified in other parts of the country, and 
it is improbable that any large portion of potato-scab is 
due to these insects. Potato-scab is a fungous disease, 
which, as already noted, may be destroyed by soaking the 
seed-potatoes in a solution of corrosive sublimate. 

Some interesting o})servations have been published by 
Messrs. Stewart and Sirrine, of the New York station, in 
which they attribute the peculiar marking of the skin 
known as '^ pimply^' potatoes to the larva of the small 
black cucumber flea-beetle, Epitri.c cucumeris Harris, 
which, as a beetle, does so much injury to the leaves. 
Without doubt this instance is a parallel to those already 
mentioned concerning insects producing potato-scab. 
Undoubtedly the larv^ of this beetle may have been found 
producing '^pimply" potatoes, but several other entomolo- 
gists and the writer have carefully examined hundreds of 
tubers in fields fairly alive with the beetles, and at all 
seasons of the year, but all in vain as far as discovering 
any flea-beetle larvae is concerned. 

The truth of the matter is that the natural food-plants 
of these larva3 are some of our commonest weeds. Similar 
instances are observed in the larva3 of the Sweet-potato 
Flea-beetle (Cluetooiema confinis Gr.), Bean Leaf-beetle 
(Cerotoma trifurcata Foerst), Tobacco Flea-beetle {Epitrix 
parvula), and others which are all occasionally found on 
the roots of the respective food-plants of the beetles, but 
which habitually feed in the larval stage upon the roots of 
such weeds as the horse-nettle, Jamestown weed, Des- 
modium, and various Soloiiacece. In fact, the only insects 
which are habitually injurious to the tubers are white grubs 
and wireworms, both of which are only too familiar to 
every farmer. So far as known, the only remedy for these 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE POTATO. 



241 



will be rapid rotation of crops, until the infested land has 
become clear of them. 



INJURING THE STALK. 

The Potato Stalk-borer {Trichoharis trinoiata Say.). 
In some sections this insect has rivaled the famous 
Colorado Potato-bug in the damage it has inflicted upon 
potato-vines. It was recorded in Iowa as badly damaging 
the crop there in 1890, and was found by Dr. Riley in 
Missouri as early as 1869. The beetles were first noted in 




Fig. 136. — Potato Stalk-borer {Trichoharis trinotata). Larva, pupa 
and adult. (After J. B. Smith ) 

New Jersey in 1895, and during the last few years have 
been doing serious injury to the fields of northwestern 
Maryland. 

Life-history. — The grubs, which bore into the stalk of 
the vines, are the larvae of some small ashen-gray beetles 
which appear early in spring and into June. These beetles 
are about one-fourth of an inch long, with a long, black 
beak or snout, and are marked at the base of the wing- 
covers by three black spots which give the insect its specific 




Fig. 137. — Work of Potato Stalk-borer in Potato-vines. (After 
J. B. Smith.) 



242 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE POTATO. 243 

name, trinotata. Each beetle punctures a small hole in 
the base of a stem by means of its beak, hollows out a 
small cavity, and there lays a single small, oval, whitish 
Qgg. From these eggs some small, white grubs with 
brown heads hatch in a few days and commence to bore 
into the stalk. These grubs keep eating, either in the 
main stalk or branches, from August 1st to September 1st, 
when they liaye become full-grown. At this time the 
grubs are about one-half an inch long, of a dirty white or 
yellowish color, with a yellowish-brown, horny head, and 
without legs. About the middle of August, as a general 
rule, the grub constructs a small, oval cocoon of chips and 
fibres in the stalk of the yine near the surface of the soil, 
and there transforms to the pupa. During late August 
and September the mature beetles shed the pupal skins, in 
which they haye remained dormant for the last few weeks, 
but remain in the yines during the winter, and do not 
come forth till the following spring. 

Remedies. — On account of its internal feeding habits no 
poison can be successfully used against this pest, and the 
only remedy, but a good one, is to rake up the yines and 
burn them as soon as the potatoes haye been dug. As this 
insect also feeds upon the Jamestown w^eed, horse-nettle, 
and other weeds of the Nightshade family, or Solonacece^ 
they should be kept cut down yery closely. When the 
grubs are noticed in the plants, a good allowance of fer- 
tilizer will do much to quicken growth and thus enable 
them to mature a crop. 

INJURING THE LEAVES. 

Colorado Potato-beetle {Leptinotarsa 10-lineata Say.). 
First and foremost among the enemies of the potato- 



244 



INSECTS IXJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



grower stands the Colorado Potato-beetle — the insect which 
in the early seventies, on account of our ignorance of it, 
was made an entomological bugbear. But "there's no 
great loss without some small gain," and we may be 
thankful that the invasion of this beetle also brought 
about the use of Paris green, an insecticide which has 
since saved thousands upon thousands of dollars to the 
American farmer. Thus, with an effectual remedy which 




Fig, 138. — The Colorado Potato-beetle {Leptinoiarsa decemlineata 
Say.), n, t'ggs; ^, larva3; c, pupa; d, beetle; e, elytra or wing- 
cover of beetle; /, leg of beetle. (After Riley. ) 

is now used where this pest occurs as regularly as potatoes 
are planted, '^familiarity" has "bred contempt," and 
to-day we have but little fear of its attack. 

History. — x\s is probably known to most of the older 
generation who watched its spread eastward, the Colorado 
Potato-beetle, as its name indicates, was a native of the 
Eocky Mountain region, and until about 1855 was satisfied 
with feeding upon various common weeds of the same 




INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE POTATO. 245 

genus as the potato-plant, principally Solcmiun datura 

Dunal, and closely allied genera. Bat with the settlement 

of this country and the introduction of the Irish potato, 

these bugs also began to take advantage of the fruits of 

civilization and transferred their feeding-grounds from the 

roadside to the potato-patch, and rapidly spread eastward 

from one to another, as well as being imported in the 

shipping of the potatoes. 

Thus, in 1859 they had reached a 2:)oint one hundred 

miles west of Omaha, N ebraska ; five 

years later crossed the Mississippi 

into Illinois; and advanced steadily 

eastward till recorded among the 

Atlantic States in 1874. Though 

slow to be introduced into some ^ o \C 

. ,T , ., . Fig. 139.— a, beak of pre- 

few sections of the country, it is daceous bug; c, beak 

safe to assert that this pest may [!£ ^ne'^'^'''^ ^"^• 

to-day be found almost wherever 

the potato is grown in the United States or southern 

Canada. 

Life-history. — During October the beetles enter the 
earth and there hibernate till the warm sunshine of April 
or May brings them forth. As soon as the young plants 
appear, the female beetles deposit their yellow eggs upon 
the under side of the leaves near the tips, each female lay- 
ing from six hundred to one thousand eggs during the 
course of a month. Meanwhile the beetles have done 
considerable damage by eating the young and tender 
plants. In about a week, there hatch a horde of very 
small but very hungry larvae, which fairly gorge themselves 
with potato-foliage and increase in size with astonishing 
rapidity. In four or five weeks, after having eaten an 



246 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

amount of food out of all proportion to tlieir size, the 
larvae have become full-grown, and enter the earth, where 
they form smooth, oval cells, and transform to the pupae. 
In a week or two the adult beetles emerge from the pupal 
skins and after feeding for a couple of weeks, deposit eggs 
for another brood. The life-history of this brood is the 
same, except that the time required for it is less than for 
the first, and following it comes the third brood, the 
beetles of which hibernate over winter as already described. 
The time required for the development of a brood is 
exceedingly variable, and owing to the length of time 
required for laying the eggs, and the fact that some larvae 
become full-grown much more quickly than others, all 
stages of the insect may be found during the summer 
months. 



^ 




Fig. 140. — Tachinid Parasite of Colorado Potato-beetle {Lydella 
doryphoroi Ril.). (After Riley.) 

Natural Enemies. — One of the chief agencies to prevent 
the excessive multiplication of this pest is the weather. 
Thus, Professor Otto Lugger records that in Minnesota, 
late in the fall of 1894, the beetles were lured from their 
winter quarters by a few warm days, and most of them 
subsequently perished from hunger or frost. In addition 



TXSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE POTATO. 



247 



to this during the late summer of 1894 there was an exces- 
sive drouth, so that but few of the third brood matured. 
Thus in 1895 there were very few of the insects to be seen. 
Among the birds, the common crow, "red-breasted Gros- 





FiG. 141. — Murky Ground-beetle {Harpalus caUginosus) and Fiery 
Ground-beetle {Calosoma calidum). (After Riley.) 




® (I®| (fSE 



Fig. 143. — Larva of Murky Ground-beetle {lLarj)alus caUginosus). 
(After Riley.) 

beak, and turkeys often feed ujDon this pest to a consider- 
able extent. 

Probably the most destructive insect-parasite of the 
larvae is a Tachinid-fly known to science as Lydella dory- 
phorce Ril., which rather closely resembles the common 
house-fly, both in size and color. A single egg is laid on 
a potato-bug and from it hatches a small, footless maggot 
which burrows inside the bug. When the larva enters the 
earth, the eifect of the maggot^s work becomes apparent, 
and instead of transforming to a pupa and beetle, it 



248 IKSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

shrivels up and dies. But the maggot itself contmets into 
a hard, brown pupa, from which the fly eventually 
emerges. Thus in 1868, when first noted by Doctor C. V. 
Kiley, he asserted that in Missouri fully ten per cent of the 
second brood and one-half of the third were destroyed by 
this parasite. 

Many of our common ladybird-beetles and their larvae 
check the pest by feeding upon the eggs. Several pre- 
daceous bugs are of value in destroying the larvae, into 
which they thrust their short, powerful beaks, and then 
suck out the juices of the body, leaving only an empty 
skin. One or two of these closely resemble the common 
squash-bug {Anasa tristis De Gr.), but are really very dis- 
similar, and whereas the beaks of the predaceous forms are 
short and thick, as in Fig. 139rr, those of plant-feeders, 
like the squash-bug, are long and slender, as in Fig. 1396'. 

Several species of ground-beetles are often found preying 
upon the larvae and beetles, but, unlike the bugs, attack 
them by means of their powerful biting jaws. These 
beetles are also exceedingly beneficial in feeding upon 
many other injurious insects, and are among the farmers' 
best insect friends (Fig. 141). 

Remedies. — As an artificial remedy for this pest, Paris 
green has long been proven to be both effectual and prac- 
tical. 

For small areas it may be used dry by mixing it with 
one hundred times its weight of dry flour, land-plaster, or 
air-slaked lime, and should be applied while the plants 
are still wet with dew, either by a perforated can, or, 
better, by one of the improved powder-guns such as 
Leggett's, by wdiich two rows of plants may be powdered at 
once. 



IKSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE POTATO. 249 

For larger areas a wet application will donljtless be found 
more satisfactory. For this purpose one pound of Paris 
green and one pound of quicklime to one hundred and 
fifty gallons of water will kill all the insects biting the 
foliage. While the vines are young, this may best be 
carried in a half barrel placed on wheels, and applied with 
a suitable pump and nozzle. But as the vines become 
larger and the field is more difficult to traverse, a knapsack- 
sprayer will be found advantageous. 

Either arsenite of lime or arsenite of soda is as effective 
as Paris green and very much cheaper. 

By observing the pest and spraying when needed, no 
fear need be had of losses from this insect, and if such 
policy were adopted by every one, it would be but a few 
years before we would be comparatively free from it. 

Flea-beetles. 

Among the worst insect pests with which potato-growers 
have had to contend in recent years are the small bkick 
beetles, which, from their power of making long, quick 
jumps, are known as flea-beetles. 

Indeed, in the Rural New Yorker potato-contest, in 
1888, it was reported that the variety "Rural Seedling 
No. 3 lost the day and was nearly a failure on account of 
the ravages of the common flea-beetle, Epitrix cucumeris.'' 

Several species are known to attack tlie potato, the two 
most common being the Cucumber Flea-beetle {Epitrix 
cuciimeris Harris) and one wdiich Prof. H. A. Garman has 
styled the Southern Potato Flea-beetle {Epitrix fusciila). 
The Tobacco Flea-beetle {Epitrix parvida) is not uncom- 
monly found on the vines in sections where its habituLl 
food-plant is also grown. All of these species are, how- 



250 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

e\er, essentially the same in habits and life-history, and 
fortunately the same remedies apply to all. Unfortunately, 
the complete life-cycle of these little insects has never been 
carefully determined, so that only a general outline can be 
given. 

During the winter the beetles hibernate under leaves, 
rubbish, etc., and in the spring come forth and lay their 
eggs upon the roots of some of our common weeds, such 
as the horse-nettle, Jamestown weed, 
Desmodium, and various members of 
the Nightshade family, or Solanacece. 
Here the larvae feed upon the small 
', roots by mining in them, and trans- 
form to pupa3 in small cells among 
the roots. From the pup^ the 
beetles emerge and, after becoming 
Fig. 143. —The Potato hardened, come forth to attack the 
bLtleT^^'^^S cmum- foliage, which they most thoroughly 
eris). Adult beetle, middle, a badly eaten leaf appearing 
much enlarged. (After ' .,.^\ ., ,i / w 

Chittenden, U. S. almost as if it had been the target tor 
Dept. Agr.) ^ shotgun. 

There are at least two, and possibly three, broods of most 
of the species, but I can find few accurate records con- 
cerning them. 

Bemedies. — Prof. C. M. Weed, of the New Hampshire 
Agricultural Experiment Station, has successfully used 
''2L spray of lime-wash made by adding a pint or more of 
freshly slaked lime to two gallons of water, and then 
thoroughly mixing in about half a teaspoonful of Paris 
green.'' 

The use of Bordeaux mixture as a repellant for flea- 
beetles was first tested and demonstrated to be effectual by 




INSECTS IXJURIOUS TO THE POTATO. 251 

Prof. R. L. Jones, of the Vermont Experiment Station. 
Prepare the mixture in the usual manner, using six pounds 
of copi^er sulfate and four pounds of freshly slaked quick- 
lime to fifty gallons of water, to which is added four ounces 
of Paris green, for the destruction of any other insect 
pests. 

Sj^ray this upon the vines so that they are well coated. 
Where this has been carefully tested it has been reported 
as a very successful repellant. 

A few plants may be jorotected from flea-beetles by 
covering them with a frame composed of two crossed 
barrel-hoops on which is tacked some mosquito-netting or 
other material; but this method is hardly practicable upon 
large areas. 

Blister-beetles (Meloidm). 

Long before we had made the acquaintance of the 
Colorado potato-bug, several species of blister-beetles fre- 
quently brought themselves into notice by their injuries, 
and, therefore, are now known as the "old-fashioned 
potato-bugs.^' 

The name of "blister-beetles" has been bestowed upon 
them because of the blistering effect which they have upon 
the skin, they being nearly related to the Spanish Fly, 
used for that purpose, and are themselves brought to 
manufacturing chemists. 

One of the most common of these is the Striped Blister- 
beetle, which has three yellow stripes upon its wing-covers, 
while the other two common forms are of a slate-black 
color. 

Very often when these beetles congregate in great num- 
bers they are a great nuisance, not only in the potato- 



252 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

patch, but upon maiiy other plants of the garden or truck- 
farm. 

Unfortunately, they present to the farmer a very 
peculiar joroblem, for while the beetles are often exceed- 
ingly injurious, the larvae are even more beneficial, in 
eating large quantities of grasshoppers' eggs. 

Life-history. — The life of these insects is unique. The 
female lays a large number of eggs in a small cavity in the 
earth, and from these hatch some small, long-legged larvae, 
which run about searching for the pod-like masses of 
grasshoppers' eggs, u2:)on Avliich they feed. As soon as the 
appetite of one of these little egg- hunters is appeased, he 
sheds his skin, and now being surrounded by food and no 
longer needing his long legs for running, in this next stage 
of his existence the legs are very short and rudimentary, 
and he remains almost immobile while feeding upon the 
rest of the eggs. 

Thus, if their destructiveness be not too severe, it would 
not be good policy to destroy these beetles whose offspring 
are so beneficial. 

Three-lined Leaf-beetle {Lema triliiieaia Oliv.). 

Closely related to the Colorado Potato-beetle, and very 
similar to it in habits, is the Three-lined Leaf -beetle 
{Lema trilineata Oliv.). The eggs can scarcely be distin- 
guished from those of that insect except by the fact that 
they are usually laid in rows along the midrib on the 
under side of the leaf, while those of the former are laid 
indiscriminately in bunches. 

The larvae, however, may be readily distinguished from 
all other insects attacking the potato by being covered 
with a disgusting mass of their own excrement. 



IXSECTS IXJURIOUS TO THE POTATO. 



253 



There are two broods during the season, the larva? of 
the first appearing in June, and that of the second in 
August: but the beetles of the second brood do not emerge 
until the following spring. In other respects the life- 
history is practically the same as that of the Colorado 
Potato-beetle. The beetle is of a pale yellow color, with 
three black stripes on its back, and in a general way 




Fig. 144. — Three-lined Leaf-beetle {Lema irilineata Oliv.). a, 
larva; h, pupa; d, eggs; beetle at right. (After Kiley.) 

resembles the common striped Cucumber-beetle {Diairotica 
vittata Fab.), though it is somewhat larger and the thorax 
is decidedly constricted. 

In case it becomes necessary to destroy the Blister- 
beetles, both they and the Three-lined Leaf-beetle may be 
readily disposed of by applying Paris green or other arsen- 
ite as advised for the Colorado Potato-beetle. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE SUGAR-BEET.* 

INJURING THE ROOT. 

White Grubs and Wireworms. (See pages 44 and 48.) 

Fortunately for the sugar-beet farmer the worst insect 
enemies of that pest feed upon the tops, and very rarely 
do we hear of serious damage being done the roots. In 
the East most of the damage to the roots is done by those 
two familiar old farm-thieves, the white grub and the 
wireworm. As a general rule they will be found to be 
worse on lands previously in sod, which should therefore 
be avoided when known to be badly infested with either of 
these insects, as both are diflicult to fight after they have 
once commenced doing noticeable injury. 

As the wireworm -beetles — " click-beetles '^ — become 
mature in late summer, but remain in the pupal cell in a 
half-hardened condition over winter, much can be done 
toward destroying them by plowing late in the summer 
and keeping the land stirred for a month or so, in this way 
exposing the newly transformed tender beetles to the fall 
frosts. 



* See Forbes and Hart, "The Economic Entomology of the 
Sugar-beet," Univ. Ill Agr. Exp. Sta , Bull. No. 60, Aug. 1900, 
for summary. 

254 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE SUGAR-BEET. 255 

The Beet-aphis {Pemphigus hetcs Doane). 

This species was first described by Mr. W. R. Doane in 
1900 and seems thus far to have been found only in 
Washington and Oregon. '^Attention was first called to 
this pest/^ he says,* ^'in 1896, when it was found that a 
field of two or three acres of beets was generally infested, 
a strip of twenty-five to a hundred yards being so badly 
injured that the beets were nearly all soft and spongy, and 
the plants much smaller than the average, f 

'^It has been even more destructive in Oregon than in 
Washington, at least a thousand tons of beets having been 
destroyed by it in one year in a single valley devoted 
largely to beet-culture. Like very many other beet-insects, 
this species infests also several wild or useless plants. 

' ' The smaller rootlets of the beet are first attacked by 
this aphis, and if it occurs in considerable numbers these 
are soon all destroyed, and the leaves thereupon soon 
wither, and the whole beet shrivels and becomes spongy. 
This wilting of the leaves will frequently, in fact, be the 
first thing to attract the attention of the beet-grower. 
The actual injury to the crop will, of course, depend 
largely upon the time when the attack of the aphis is 
made. If the plants are small they may be readily 
destroyed, while if they are practically full-grown the loss 
of the small rootlets will not materially affect them. 

"^No sexual generation of this aphis has as yet been dis- 
covered and no eggs have been seen, viviparous reproduc- 
tion continuing throughout the year except when the cold 



* Bull. No. 42, Wash. Agr. Exp. Sta. 

f Forbes and Hart, Bull. No. 60, Univ. 111. Agr. Exp. Sta. 
p. 507. 



25G 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



of the winter temporarily suspends the physiological 
activities of the species. The winged females, appearing 
from time to time during the summer and fall, serve to 
distribute the species generally, new colonies being started 
wherever these females find lodgment and food. In dis- 
tricts liable to injury by this insect it seems inadvisable 




Fig. 145. — The Beet-aphis {PempJiigus betm Doane). a, winged 
female; h, wingless female; c, antenna of winged female. 
(After Doane.) 

that beets should be the fiist crop on new land, or that 
ground should be continued in beets or in any other root- 
crop after the pest has made its appearance in the field." 

CUTTING THE TOPS. 

Cutworms. 

Like all similar crops, the sugar-beet is often subject to 
the midnight raids of the deadly Cutworms, and when 
present in any number they should be carefully guarded 
against while plants are young. Like the Web-worms, 
they are worse upon a sandy soil, and like the Wireworms, 
when the beets are on land previously in grass. 

These well-known depredators are the larva? of moths, 
which, from their habit of flying at night, are known as 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE SUGAR-BEET. 



257 



Noctuiclffi. The injurious species belong almost entirely 
to the genera Maniestris, Hadena^ and Agrotis, and are 
sufficiently alike in their habits and life-history that the 
same methods may in general be applied to all. The 
worms are of dull brown, gray, or greenish hues, generally 
with longitudinal stripes, and often with oblique dashes. 




Fig. 146. — Peridromia S'Hicia. a, adult; b, c, d, full-grown larvae; 
e, f, eggs— all natural size except e, which is greatly enlarged. 
(After Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 

They are one and one-fourth to almost two inches in length 
and rather stout, but tapering. The head and segment 
back are reddish brown and horny. There are eight pairs 
of legs; the first three jointed and tapering, the last five 
(pro-legs) short and stout. Besides the beets they have 
been recorded as injuring almost every crop of the farm, 
orchard, and garden. Beets, turnips, and many of the 
garden crops are cut off at the neck just below the surface 
of the soil. Like the adults, the worms feed only at night. 



258 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

excepting when a scarcity of food causes them to assemble 
and assume the marching habit of the army- worm during 
the day. For this reason their work often remains 
unnoticed until the damage is done, and no remedy can 
repair the loss. The characteristic mode of attack is to 
cut off the young plant at the surface of the ground and 
leisurely feed upon the leaves and stem, but several species 



Fig. 147. — The Dark-sided Ciitv/orDi {Agrotis messoria). (After 

Riley.) 

remain entirely under the soil, pulling the plant more or 
less into their subterranean retreat. The life-history of 
the various species of cutworms varies considerably, and 
has not been entirely ascertained for many of them, but 
whatever it may be they are always on hand, ready to nip 
the young plants as soon as set out. 

Remedies. — All things considered, no remedy has as yet 
been devised which is more satisfactory or efficient than that 
of a mixture of bran or middlings and Paris green. This 
consists of mixing one pound of Paris green with forty of 
bran or middlings, barely moistening this with water into 
which has been stirred about two quarts of cheap molasses 



IK^SECTS INJURIOUS TO THE SUGAR-BEET. 



259 



or sorghum. The molasses gives the mash more or less of 
an odor, and renders it slightly more palatable. Do not 
have the mixture too wet or it will ' ' cake. ^^ Apply this 
at the rate of a heaping tablespoonful about every three 
feet in the rows. Equally good results have been obtained 
by using thirty pounds of bran and middlings, dry, in 
equal parts, with one pound of Paris green, which is easily 




Fig. 148. — The Granulated Cutworm {Agrotis annexa). (After 

Riley.) 

scattered by hand or by means of an onion-drill. When 
the worms are known to be present the mash should be 
applied two or three days before the young plants appear, 
in which case — having no other food — large numbers of 
the worms will be killed. If ajDplied later, distribute 
the mash late in the afternoon, so that it will be fresh 
when the worms come out in the evening. 



li^JURING THE LEAVES. 

Web-worms {Loxostege spp.). 

Possibly the most destructive sugar-beet insects are the 
common Garden Web-worm [Loxostege simUalis Gn.), and 



2G0 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



ihe Sugar-beet Web-worm {Loxostege sfictiaUs Linn.), Lirvae 
of very closely allied moths of the family Pyralidm. Until 
the snmmer of 1892 they had not been noted east of the 
Mississippi River, confining themselves to a region west of 
that to the Rockies and north of the Platte River. But 
in September of that year they destroyed fully fifty per 
cent of the tansy crop, which is largely grown for oil near 
Menon, Mich., and, since the extensive growing of the 
sugar-beet had hardly commenced at that time, it is safe to 
assume that with its more general culture in the East these 
two pests will accompany it. 



The Garden Web-worm. 

The greatest injury seems to be done by the second 
brood of caterpillars in July, and in Nebraska there are 




Fig. 149. — The Garden Web- worm {Loxostege similalis Gn.). 

three broods during the season. When the fall brood has 
become full-grown it burrows into the earth, forms small 
cells, neatly lined with silk, and there lies dormant during 
the winter, transforming to pupa3 the next May. The moths 
emerge in a week or ten days, and at once commence to 
lay eggs upon the leaves of the plants. They are pretty 
little moths, with a wing-expanse of about three-fourths 



INSECTS I^TJURIOUS TO THE SUGAR-BEET. 2G1 

of an inch, quite variable in color, but generally an orange 
or reddish yellow, inclining to a shade of gray. Their 
characteristic dark and light markings are well shown in 
the figure. The eggs of the latter worm are a pale yellow, 
circular, somewhat flattened, and laid either singly or in 
rows of four or five. The young worms hatch in a few 
days, and often do serious injury by feeding upon the 
foliage of the plant, always S23inning a light, silken web 
over them. Most of the feeding is done at night, but 
during the last stage they may be found during the day. 
This brood matures in about ten days after hatching, 
pupates, and the moths emerge early in July, giving rise 
to the destructive July brood of worms. The larvse, or 
'' web-worms," are about five-eighths of an inch long when 
full-grown, and, like the moth, are variable in color, being 
either a pale, dark, or even greenish yellow. They are 
distinctly marked by several rows of black spots, which are 
surrounded by a plain border, as in Fig. 149. 

Remedies. — Deep plowing or thorough harrowing in the 
fall after the larv» have entered the cocoons in the earth 
will destroy large numbers of them. When the worms 
appear in destructive numbers upon the foliage they may 
be controlled by a spray of Paris green or other arsenite, 
using one pound to 125 gallons of water, providing, of 
course, that the tops are not to be fed to stock. An 
under- spray nozzle should be used, so as to reach all j^arts 
of the plant in an effective manner. When present in 
large numbers and doing serious injury the worms can be 
more quickly killed by spraying with strong kerosene 
emulsion, but this will only kill those hit, and an ar- 
senite should also be applied without delay. 



26^ INSiECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



The Beet Army-worm {Lapliijgma jlavimaculata Harr.). 

''This caterpillar, which replaces the Grass-worm 
{L, frugiperda — see page 84) in the Western States, differs 
from it by its more decidedly mottled ground-color, by a 
row of white dots at the lower margin of the lateral dark 
band, and by the yellower color of the light stripes. It is 
an interesting fact that while the preceding species was 
doing serious, unusual, and wide-extended injuries in the 
Eastern and Southern States (1899), the present one was 
similarly abundant in Colorado, where, besides destroying 
many kinds of weeds and grasses, it completely defoliated 
thousands of acres of sugar-beets. In some cases where 
the foliage of the beet did not furnish it sufficient food, 
the root was attacked and the upper surface was completely 
gnawed away. Late plantings of course suffered most 
severely, especially when surrounded by newly broken 
ground. The weeds most generally eaten were pigweed, 
saltweed, wild sunflower, and cleome. Potato-, pea-, and 
apple-leaves were also devoured. These injuries occurred 
about the middle of August, at which time the larvse and 
pupge were abundant, and a few moths laden with eggs 
were noticed.'' 

This species evidently hibernates as a moth, and at 
least two broods of larvfe may be looked for each year, the 
first about June and the second in August. The species 
has been reported thus far from Colorado and California, 
but it doubtless has a more extended range in the moun- 
tain region of the far West. 

**Prof. Gillette's field-experiments showed that it could 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE SUGAR-BEET. 



263 



be destroyed by dusting or s]^ raying arsenical poisons on 
the leaves. " * 

Plant-bugs. 

The Tarnished Plant-bug {Lygus prateiisis), False 
Chinch-bug (Xysius angustatus), and several of the 
common plant-bugs often become so numerous as to do 
considerable damage. When present in large numbers, a 
spray of kerosene emulsion or kerosene and water might 




Fig. 150. — The False Chinch- bug {Nysius angustatus . (After Riley.) 




Fia. 151. — Tarnished Plant-bug {Lygus pratens'.s Linn.), a, young, 
first stage; b, young, third stage (X3); c, adult (x2) — all en- 
larged. (After Stedman.) 

be used to great advantage. Recent experiments in New 
York show that the Tarnished Plant-bug can be driven 
from a field by dusting the rows with wood-ashes, being 
careful to w^ork on the same side of each row and thus 
gradually driving them into the field adjoining. 



* Forbes and Hart, 1. c., facts derived from statements of Prof. C. 
P. Gillette. 



264 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

Flea-beetles. 

Several species of flea-beetles, chiefly Systena tceniata, 
Systena hudsonias, DisonycJia triangularis, and Phyllotreta 
vittata, often do considerable injury by gnawing small 
holes in the upper and lower surfaces of the leaf, giving it 
an appearance as if affected by leaf-spot, or puncturing it 
full of small holes, and thus stunting the growth of tlie 
plant. 

The Yellow-black Flea-beetle {Disonycha o-anthomelcend). 

This is one of the common beet-insects, both the larva 
and adults feeding upon the leaves. It may be distin- 
guished among the Flea-beetles by its comparatively large 
size (its length about a quarter of an inch), by its metallic 
greenish-blue or black head and wing-covers, with the 
thorax uniformly jiale yellowish above and black beneath, 
and the abdomen yellow beneath. 

A much smaller, also very abundant, species whose 
injuries in spring frequently attract attention is the Pale- 
striped Flea- beetle (Systena tceniata). This is about an 
eighth of an inch in length, light yellowish brown in 
general color, with a broad, pale stii2)e down each wing- 
cover. 

Most of the Flea-beetles are so similar in their general 
habits that they may be treated together, and the same 
remedies will be applicable for each species. The beetles 
hibernate over winter in woodlands, under rubbish, etc., 
and in the early spring deposit their eggs on the roots of 
common weeds of the family Solonacem, such as the James- 
town weed, horse-nettle, etc. On these the larva? feed, 
mining the roots and stems of the plants. When full- 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE SUCtAR-BEET, 265 

grown the larva transforms to a pupa inside a small 
earthen cell, and a week or ten days later the adult beetle 
emerges. The beetles may feed for a short time on the 
larval food-plant, but they soon desert it for some culti- 
vated crop. A spray of Paris green and Bordeaux mixture 
will be found effectual in ridding the plants of these pests. 
It should be applied liberally and the spraying should be 
repeated, if necessary, after a heavy rain. 

Clean Culture. — But there is one very simple method 
for securing immunity from all the pests so far mentioned, 
which should be practiced even were no insects present. 
There can be no doubt that the natural food-plants of all 
these insects. Web-worms, Flea-beetles, and Plant-bugs, 
consists of the common pigweeds, tumbleweeds, Jamestown 
weeds, etc. Thus, a field planted in beets, which has been 
idle and allowed to grow up in weeds, is always the most 
subject to insect attack, and it is always well to grow 
some crop prior to beets, and subsequently to pursue as 
much of a rotation as possible. Fields, fences, and road- 
sides should be kept well cleaned from these weeds, espe- 
cially during the fall, after the crop is harvested, and with 
such precautions the few of these insects that are always 
present will do but slight injury. 

Blister-beetles (Meloidce). 
Among those insects attacking the young sugar-beets 
and often doing considerable damage after they have 
become partly grown, few are more wide-spread or do more 
general injury than the Blister-beetles. They have been 
especially destructive in the northern Mississippi Valley, 
where they are usually worst after a period of unusual 
abundance of grasshoppers. Coming suddenly in a large 



266 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



swarm, they settle in a field and tlioronglily riddle the 
foliage with holes or strip it bare before going to another 
field. 

One of the most common forms is the Striped Blister- 
beetle, or ^'old-fashioned potato-bug" (Ejyicmda vitiatu), 
which is shown in the illustration, together with the im- 
mature stages. The ash-gray Blister-beetle (Macrohasis 
wnicolor) is also a common form, shown in Fig. 153. 
Three or four other forms are common throughout the 
country, but are especially numerous in the West, where 
grasshoppers are more abundant. The reason for this is 
apparent when we come to consider the life-history of the 
pest, for the Blister-beetles are not an unmixed evil. 

Life-liistory. — In a small cavity in the earth the female 
beetle lays some four or five hundred eggs, these being 




Fig. 152. — Striped Blister-beetle [Epicauta mitata). a, larva 

hibernatiug- stage of larva: adult beetle at right, and pupa at 
a, b. (After Riley.) 



c, d, 



deposited from July to October. About ten days later the 
eggs hatch, and from them emerge some small but very 
active larvae, with long legs, large heads, and strong jaws. 
They at once commence running about in search of the 
pod-like masses of grasshoppers^ 6ggs, and as soon as one 
is found the larva enters it and commences a hearty meal. 
As soon as his appetite has been somewhat satisfied he 
sheds his skin, and now being surrounded by food and no 



IXSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE SUGAR-BEET, 



267 



longer needing his long running legs, they are changed for 
very short, aborted legs, and the larva is soft and sluggish. 
In another week a second molt takes place, after which 
the legs and even the mouth-parts are still more atrophied. 
After another molt and after consuming all the eggs in the 
pod, the larva now goes deeper in the soil, and inside a 
small oval cavity again sheds its skin, and hibernates over 
winter as a sort of semipupa. In the spring the larva 




Fig. 153. — a, Ash-gray Blister-beetle [Macrohasis unicolor; h, Epi- 
cauta pennsylr>anica. (After Riley.) 



appears again much like the second stage, but does not eat 
much, and soon goes into the pupal stage from which 
emerges the adult beetle. Altogether the life-history is 
one of the most peculiar and complicated among insects. 
Thus the Blister-beetles are one of the most important 
factors in holding the grasshoppers in check, 

Bemedies. — However, when they swarm into the beet- 
fields, potato- or garden-patches, one cannot afford to 
allov/ them to consume one crop for the good they may do 
in saving anotlier from still another insect scourge. "A 
bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," is equally true 
of insects. So l)e ready for them on their first appearance; 
give the plants a thorough spraying with Paris green, ut 
the rate of one pound and one pound of lime to 125 gallons 



268 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

of water, aud when sprayed, it would be well to spray it 
with Bordeaux mixture, which will prevent various fun- 
gous diseases, and with which Paris green can be used 
much stronger without danger of burning the foliage; or 
it may be applied dry by mixing with from ten to twenty 
parts of flour or plaster, dusting it on in early morning, 
while the dew is still on the plants. Any other arsenical 
poison will prove equally effective, if used at the proper 
strength. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE HOP-PLANT. 

IXJURIN'G THE STALK. 

The Hop-plant Borer [Hydrcecia immanis Grt.). 

The Hop-plant Borer is sometimes the occasion of a 
considerable loss to the hop indnstry, Mr. Chas. R. Dodge 
having estimated upon the basis of the census of 1879 that 
it annually amounts to 1600,000 in New York State alone. 
The moths have been taken from Ontario and New Eng- 
land south to the District of Columbia, and west to 
Wisconsin, and also from Colorado and Washington, but 
the larvae have never become injurious in the hop-fields of 
the Pacific Coast. *^It is probable that it is a northern 
form, and confined, as it seems to be, to a single food- 
plant, it will be found only where this plant is known to 
grow. '^ * 

Life-liisfory. — Many of the moths emerge from the 
pupae in the fall and hibernate over winter, while others 
do not transform till spring, passing the winter in the 
pupal stage, in a small cell in the ground near the roots 
of the plant which the larvae have infested. The moths 
appear during May, and the females deposit their globular, 

* "Some Insects Affecting the Hop-plant," L. O. Howard, Bull 
No. 7, n. s., Div. Ent., U. S. Dept. Agr., p. 41. 



270 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPa 



yellowish-green eggs upon the tips of the hop-vines just 
as they begin to climb. '^ The egg hatches in a few days 
and produces a minute slender greenish larva, spotted with 
black, which immediately burrows into the vine just below 
the tip, and spends a part of its life in the vine at this 
point. The vine soon shows the effects of the insects^ 




Fig. 154.— Hop-plant Borer {Hydrceda immanis Grt.). a, enlarged 
segment of larva; b, larva; c, pupa; d, adult, natural size. 
(After Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 

work; instead of pointing upward, embracing the pole 
readily and growing rapidly, the tip points downward, will 
not climb, and almost entirely ceases growing. This 
appearance is called by growers a 'Muffle-head.^ When 
the insect attains a length of about half an inch, or 
slightly less, it leaves the tip, drops to the ground, and 
entering the stem at the surface of the vine, feeds upward, 
interrupting the growth of the vine and lessening its 
vitality; the larva now changes color, and becomes a dirty- 
white, with a strong, deep reddish tint, with numerous 
black spots. The larva, now about an inch in length, and 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE HOP-PLANT. 271 

still slender, burrows downward to the base of the vine at 
its juncture with the old stock, and eating its way out, 
completes its growth as a subterranean worker; it is in 
this state that it is best and most widely known as the hop 
' grub,'' and the ravages caused by it are most noted/' * 

The larvae have mostly left the stems by the last of June 
and henceforth are mainly sap-feeders. Eating into the 
stem just below the surface of the ground and just above 
the old root, they rapidly grow fat upon the juices of the 
plant. These openings are gradually enlarged so that very 
often the stem is entirely severed from the root or is so 
slightly attached that the plant is badly stunted and yields 
few, if any, hops. The larvfB become full-grown from 
the middle to the l^Oth of July and are then ^' about 
two inches in length, fleshy, unwieldy, and very slow in 
their movements; they are of a dirty white color, speckled 
with fine, brownish elevated tubercles, each furnished with 
a single stout hair; the head is brownish and corneous, as 
is also the top of the first segment." (I.e.) 

The larva3 now transform to pupa3 in rough cells, close 
to the roots which they have infested, and the adult moths 
emerge during August or Se]3tember, or the following 
spring. The adult moths are found to be most beautifully 
marked upon close examination, though not of a striking 
appearance at first sight. '^The general color is a rosy 
brown, paler at the extremity of the w^ngs. The darker 
central portion is shaded with dark velvety bronze and 
marked with two dull-yellow spots. The fore wings are 
divided into three areas by narrow oblique transverse lines, 

* ''Hop-insects," Dr. J. B. Smith, Bull. No. 4, o. s., Div. Ent. 
U. S. Dept. Agr. 



272 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

edged outwardly with pink. The hind wings are jiaier in 
color, crossed in the middle by a slightly darker line." 
(Howard, I.e.) 

Remedies. — Two points in the life-history of the insect 
afford opportunity for its control. The first of these is 
when the young larv^ are still in the tips and can easily 
be crushed by the fingers when tying the vines. ^' Muffle- 
heads" should always be picked off and destroyed. 

Early in June when the larvse have left the inside of the 
vines it is well to remove all the soil from the base of the 
vine, down to the junction with the old root. The 
larvas, which will not feed above ground, will go to the 
old roots, to which they will do but little injury. The 
roots should be left thus exposed for about a week. A 
handful of mixture of coal and wood ashes or ammoniated 
phosphate should then be applied to each and the plants 
hilled high. The plant will now send out new rootlets 
from the main root, and is able to secure necessary nour- 
ishment through them. 

INJURING THE LEAVES. 

The Hop-louse {Pliorodon humuli Schr.). 

Like many another aphid the Hop-louse has a most 
interesting life-history, which has been fully ascertained 
in but recent years. During the winter the small oval 
black eggs may be found in the crevices aad around the 
buds of the terminal twigs of plum-trees near infested hop- 
fields. From these hatch a generation of females, known 
as ^^stem-mothers," during the following spring. The 
lice of this generation differ in being stouter, with shorter 
legs and honey-tubes than those of any otlier geiu^ration. 
Three generations feed upon the plum, the third becoming 



INSECTS INJUKIOUS TO THE HOP-PLANT. 



273 



winged and at once flying to its favorite food in the hop- 
field. 

Throughout the summer the lice are j^roduced partheno- 
genetically, as are almost all plant-lice (see page 136). 
They " multiply with astonishing rapidity for from five to 
twelve generations, carrying us in point of time to the 
hop-picking season.'' '^Each parthenogenetic female is 
capable of producing on an average one hundred young 





Fig. 155.— Winter Eggs of the 
Hop Plant-louse, and shriv- 
eled skin of the sexual female 
which laid them — enlarged. 
(After Riley, U. S. Dept. Agr. ) 



Fig. 156.— The Hop Plant-louse, 
stem -mother, with enlarged an- 
t'mmie above. (After Riley, 
U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



(the stem-mother probably being more prolific), at the rate 
of one to six, or an average of three ^qv day^ under favor- 
able conditions. Each generation begins to breed about 
the eighth day after birth, so that the issue from a single 
individual easily runs up, in the <?ourse of the summer, to 
millions. The number of leaves (700 hills, each with two 
poles and two vines) to an acre of hoj^s, as grown in the 
United States, will not, on the average, much exceed a 



274 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



million before the period of blooming or burning; so that 
the issue from a single stem-mother may, under favoring 
circumstances, blight hundreds of acres in the course of 
two or three months/^ * 

During September a brood of winged females are pro- 
duced which fly back to the plum-trees and in the course 




Fig. 157. — The Hop Plaut-louse, third generation on plum— the 
generation which tlies to the hop — enlarged; head below at right 
— still more enlarged. (After Riley, U. IS. Dept. Agr.) 

of a few days give birth to three or more young. Tliese 
never become winged, but are the true sexual females 
which lay the winter eggs. The true winged males are 
developed during the latter part of the season and may be 
found pairing with the wingless females at that time, these 
being the only males during the year. 

Re7}iedies. — From a knowledge of the above-described 
life-history several methods of treatment have been 
secured. By spraying plum-trees neighboring the hop- 



Riley, "The Hop-louse," " Insect Life," Vol. I, p. 130, 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE HOP-PLANT. 



275 




yard and infested with lice while they are laying the eggs, 

during fall or in the spring, before the winged generation 

appears, with some substance which will destroy them, the 

pest may be prevented from getting a start the next season. 

Spraying the trees during the fall 

is best, because a stronger or more 

caustic solution can then be applied 

without danger of injury to the | \^ / / 

tree. A winter wash of one pound ^ *^'^ 

of concentrated lye to two gallons 

of water might be used as a spray / /^_j _\ 

to advantage in killing a large share 

of the eggs, but should not be applied 

after the buds commence to swell in | ^ 

the spring. To lessen the number 

of eggs all wild plum-trees in the Fig. 158. — The Hop 

neighboring woods should be de- ^ir'^^mrieX,-!:!: 

stroyed. As soon as the crop is (After Riley, U. S. 

Dept. Agr.) 
harvested, the hop-vines should be 

burned or thoroughly sprayed with kerosene emulsion, so 
as to kill off the males before they have been able to fer- 
tilize the females. 

For spraying the plum-trees and hop-vines the follow- 
ing have given excellent satisfaction: 

"Kerosene Emulsion. 

Cheap kerosene 8 joints. 

Water 4 '' 

Soap \ pound. 

" Dissolve the soap in the water and add (boiling hot) to 
the kerosene. Churn the mixture by means of a force- 
pump and spray-nozzle for 5 or 10 minutes. The emul- 



2:g 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



sioii, if perfect, forms *i cream Avhich tliickens upon 
cooling, and should adhere without oiliness to the surface 
of glass. Dilute one part of the emulsion with 25 parts 
of water." Kerosene and water mechanically mixed 
( " Kerowater ") would doubtless be equally effective 
applied at a strength of 15 or 20 per cent. 




Fig. 159. 



-The Hop Plant-louse, male — enlarged. (After Riley, 
U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



Fish -oil or whale-oil soap used at the rate of one pound 
to eight gallons of water will prove an effective spray 
against the lice. It can be purchased at from 3 to 5 cents 
per pound. 

The Hop-vine Snout-moth {Hypena liumuli Harr.). 

The larvae of the Hop-vine Snout-moth sometimes 
become very formidable pests in the hop-field, appearing 



INSECTS IXJURIOrs TO THE HOP-PLAXT. 277 

suddenly in large numbers and rapidly eating the foliage 
over a large area. 

They are not known to have any other food-plant than 
the hop and hence are only found where that plant occurs, 
though specimens have been taken from almost all sections 
of the United States, southern Canada, and British 
Columbia. 

Life-liidory. — It seems probable that the moths hiber- 
nate over winter, as they emerge in the fall, and lay eggs 
for the first brood early in the following May. The eggs 
are of a pale-green color, and are deposited upon the under 
surfaces of the leaves, sometimes several upon a single leaf. 
The larvas emerging from them become mature late in 
June and early in July. When full-grown the larvffi are 
slightly less than one inch long, and *^of a green color, 
marked with two longitudinal white lines down the back, 
a dark-green line in the middle between and an indistinct 
whitish line on each side of the body. The head is green, 
spotted with black j^iliferous dots, and similar dots occur 
on each segment, arranged in two transverse rows."* 

Before pupating the larva spins a thin silken cocoon, 
either among the leaves, under the bark of the poles, or 
at or slightly under the surface of the ground, various 
observers having noted them in all of these positions. 
The pupal stage occupies about ten days, and the moths 
emerge from the cocoons early in July. Another brood 
follows with a similar life-history, the moths emerging 
late in August and in September and probably hibernating 
over winter. 

* "Hop-insects," L. O. Howard, Bull. No. 7, n. s., Div. Ent., 
U. S. Dept, Agr. 



278 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE TROPS. 



The Lirvge are known as '^ false looijers," on account of 
their bending the back slightly in creeping, which is due 
to their lacking the first pair of pro-legs. 

Another species of the same genus (Hypena rostralis) 
affects hop-vines in Europe in the same manner and is 
very similar to the one above described. 









Fig. 160. — The Hop-vine Snout-moth {Hypena humuli Harr.^. a, 
egg; h, larva; c, segment of same; d, pupa; e, cremaster of 
same; /, adult — a, c, e, greatly enlarged, others slightly en- 
larged. (After Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 

Remedies. — The larvae can be controlled by the use of 
any arsenical spray, which should be applied while they 
are still young. 

Hop-merchants. 

The so-called '* Ilop-merchants " which here and there 
gleam from the vines are the chrysalids of two common 
butterflies, whose larv^ feed preferably upon hops. The 
chrysalids are normally marked with beautiful gold or 
silver spots, which sometimes become so diffused as to 
tinge the whole chrysalis. ^'An interesting superstition 
holds among hop-growers to the effect that when the 



INSECTS TXJURIOrS TO THE HOP-PLAXT. 279 

golclen-spotted clir3^salids are plentiful the crop will be 
good and the price high, while if the silver-spotted ones 
are plentiful and the golden-spotted ones are scarce the 
price will be low." (Howard, I.e.) 

The Semicolon-butterfly {PoJygonia interrogationis 
Godart). 

The common names of these two butterflies indicate the 
most striking mark of distinction between them. P. in- 
terrogatioiiis bears a silver mark like a semicolon or 
'' interrogation" point upon the under side of the hind 
wings (Fig. 161), while P. comma has the same mark 
without the dot, wdiich thus resembles a comma (Fig. 162). 

The Semicolon-butterfl}' is common throughout the 
United States east of the Rockies, and especially in hop- 
growing regions. It hibernates over winter and is among the 
first butterflies to be seen in early spring, when it is often 
attracted to the flowing sap of newly cut trees. The eggs 
are laid late in May or early in June, usually upon the 
under surface of the leaves, of elm, blackberry, or nettle, 
either singly or in pendant columns of from two to eight. 
They hatch in from four to eleven days and the larvae grow 
quite rapidly. 

When full-grown the larva is an inch and a quarter 
long. The head is reddish black, somewhat bilobed, each 
lobe being tipped with a tubercle bearing five single, 
black-pointed si)ines, and covered with many small white 
and several blackish tubercles. The body is black, thickly 
covered with streaks and dots of yellowish white; the 
second segment is without spines, but with a row of yel- 
lowish tubercles in their place; the third segment has four 
branching spines, all black, with a spot of dark yellow at 



280 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 



their base; mid on the fourth segment are four spines, as 
there are on all the others, excepting the terminal, which 
has two pairs, one posterior to the other. The spines are 
yellow, with blackish branches, excepting the terminal 
pair, which are black; and there is a row of reddish ones 
on each side. TJie under surface is yellowish gray, darker 




Fig. 101. — The Scm1colon-l)iitterfly {Polygonyi. iiterrogationis). a, 
egg chain; h, larva; r, chrysalis; d, adult — all natural size ex- 
cept a, which is greatly enlarged. (After Howard, U. S. Dept. 
Agr.) 

on the anterior segments, with a central line of blackish, 
and many small black dots. (Saunders.) 

The chrysalis is ash-brown, with the head deeply 
notated, and with eight silvery spots on the back, this 
stage lasting from eleven to fourteen days and the butter- 
flies emerging in July. These lay eggs for another brood 
late in July and throughout August, mainly upon t]ie 



INSECTS IXJURIOrS TO THE HOP-PLANT. 



281 



hop-plants, where they are to be found. When the cater- 
pillars of this brood are numerous they sometimes do con- 
siderable damage to the foliage, but both this and the 
following species are ordinarily prev^ented from becoming 




Fig. 162.— The Comma-butterfly {Polygonia comma), a, egg-chain, 
h, larva: c, cluysahs; d, adult— all natural size, except (i, which 
is greatly enlarged. (After Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 

overnumerous by several parasites of the eggs and larvae. 
Only when for some reason conditions are unfavorable to 
the development of its parasites does either species become 
especially abundant. In fact, Dr. J. B. Smith, who made 
extensive observations upon hop-insects in 1883, states 



282 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

" that not one in ten of the insects ever attains the butter- 
fly state." 

The chrysalis stage of the second brood is somewhat 
longer than the first, sometimes lasting twenty-six days, 
and the butterflies emerge from the latter part of August 
until the end of October, and at once seek quarters in 
which to hibernate over winter. 

Both this species and P. comma are dimorphic, the 
winter and summer forms differing in both sexes in both 
the upper and lower aspects of the wings. In the South, 
where from three to five broods occur in a season, both 
forms are usually found in the second and third broods, 
the summer form, var. uinhrosa, gradually decreasing 
until all of the fourth brood are the hibernating winter 
form, va7\ fabricii. 

The Comma-butterfly {Polygonia coinma Harr.). 

The Comma-butterfly is most common throughout the 
East from New England to North Carolina and Tennessee, 
though occasionally found as far west as Wisconsin, Iowa, 
Nebraska, and Texas. 

Its life-history is practically the same as that of the 
species just described. The larva? of the first brood some- 
times seriously damage young elm-trees, which have been 
but recently reset, by eating them bare of the foliage. The 
winter form hibernates about a month earlier, being rarely 
seen in October. As a rule a similar dimor2:)hism occurs, 
the hibernating form being known as var. harrisii and the 
summer form var. dryas^ though the distinction is not 
as marked in this species. 

The half-grown larva is black, with a yellowish stripe 
along the side from the third segment, and with yellow 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE HOP-PLANT. 283 

stripes across the back, and spots of the same color at the 
base of the dorsal spines, which are yellow tipped with 
black. The mature caterpillar is white, mottled, or 
striped with gray or ashen, and with red spiracles. 
(W. H. Edwards.) 

The butterflies of both species are of a rich brown color, 
marked with black and tipped with lilac above, and of a 
much darker purplish brown with the characteristic silver 
spots beneath, which are well indicated in the illustration. 

Remedies. — Spraying with an arsenical will destroy the 
larvae when such treatment becomes necessary. 



CHAPTER XV. 
INSECTICIDES. 

Those insecticides sprayed or dusted are generally 
divisible into two classes: (1) poisons which kill by being 
eaten; and (2) oils or dusts which kill the insect by pene- 
trating the skin or by clogging the breathing-pores. 
Poisons are used for insects such as grasshoppers, cater- 
pillars, beetles, etc., which bite and chew their food (see 
page 12). Contact insecticides are nsed against insects, 
snch as plant-lice, scale-msects, etc., which suck up the 
juices of the plant through a slender beak (see page 13) 
and which are not affected by poisons applied to the sur- 
face of the plant. 

Gases are used against certain insects which cannot be 
effectively destroyed by sprays or other means. They kill 
by suffocation (see page 18). 

Bordeavx mixfyre sometimes acts as a preventive against 
insects by rendering the food-plant distasteful to them.* 

* Bordeau Mixture : 

Copper sulphate (bluestone) 4 pounds 

Fresh lime (unslaked) 6 " 

Water 40 gallons 

Dissolve the bluestone in a half barrel of water by hanging in a 
bag over night. Slake the lime and add to a half barrel of water. 
Pour the two half barrels of bluestone solution and lime into a third 

284 



INSECTICIDES. 285 

POISONS, (for biting insects.) 

Most of the poisons nsed as insecticides are composed 
of compounds of arsenic. Formerly only Paris green and 
London purple were used. Now several substitutes are 
cheaper and some more desirable. Therefore, where the 
word arsenife has been used above, any of the arsenites 
mentioned below may be used, except as qualified. 

Kemember that these poisons are all dangerous to human 
life. Keep them well labeled and locked up. 

Arsenites. 

Unless otherwise directed above, the arsenites may be 
either S23rayed or dusted. Dusting is usually desirable on 
low-growing plants only and should be done in the early 
morning while damp with dew. When used dry the 
arsenite is usually mixed with land plaster or flour and is 
applied with a bellows, perforated can, or powder-gun. 

When adding a dry arsenite to water for spraying, first 
mix it in a small quantity of water, so as to form a paste. 

Paris Green. 

Paris green 1 pound 

Water 160-300 gallons 

Lime 2 pounds 

When used with Bordeaux mixture use 4 ounces of 
arsenite to 50 gallons of the mixture. Keep well stirred 
while spraying. 20 to 25 cents per 2:)ound. 

empty barrel, stirring constantly. A "stock solution" of copper 
sulphate, in which 40 pounds is dissolved in 40 gallons of water, is 
convenient for extensive work. Four gallons should then be diluted 
with one-half barrel of water and mixed with lime as above. 



280 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

London Purple. 

Used iu the same proportions as Paris green, but is 
mucli more caustic, its composition being variable, and 
should therefore have considerable more lime added. 

Green Arsenoid. 

" Is slightly superior to Paris green in composition and 
appears to be equally safe on foliage when applied at the 
ordinary strength. The powder is about a tliird lighter 
than Paris green, and remains correspondingly longer in 
suspension." Sold by manufacturers, Adler Color and 
Chemical Works, New York, at 15 cents per pound, or 
13 cents in 100-pound kegs. Rather preferable to Paris 
green. Add plenty of lime. 

Arsenite of Lead. 

Least caustic of all the arsenites in its effect upon 
foliage. Remains in suspension and adheres to foliage 
better than Paris green. Is Avhite in color. Sells at 15 
to 18 cents per pound. Manufactured by Wm. II. Swift 
& Co., Boston, Mass. Can be made '^by combining 
approximately 3 parts of the arsenite of soda with 7 parts 
of the acetate of lead (white sugar of lead) in water. 
These substances when pulverized unite readily and form 
a white precipitate, which is more easily kept suspended 
in water than any of the other poisons. At wholesale 
acetate of lead costs about 7j cents a pound, and the 
arsenite of soda, 5 cents. May be used at any strength 
from 3 to 15 pounds to 100 gallons of water without injury 
to foliage, and is much safer on delicate plants than any 
other arsenical." 

" Disparene," manufactured l)y the Bovvker Chemical 



INSECTICIDES, 287 

Co., Boston, Mass., is practically the same as arsenite of 
lead, and is much more adhesive than the other arsenites, 
this being due, we understand, to its containing glucose. 
Arsenite of Lime. 
*^This has the threefold advantage of being (1) cheap, 

(2) the amount of arsenic is under perfect control, and 

(3) it does not burn the foliage. It is made by boiling 
together for 45 minutes : 

White arsenic 1 j^ound 

Fresli stone lime 2 pounds 

Water 1 gallon 

" This may be kept in a tight vessel (marked ' Poison! ') 
and used as desired. Thoroughly stir the material 'hefore 
using. For most insects, one quart of the above per 
barrel will be sufficient." It is insoluble in water and will 
not injure foliage at this strength. The cheapest arsenite 
and as effective as any. 

Paragrene. 

" Has equal insecticidal value with Paris green, is about 
as likely to burn the foliage and remains longer in suspen- 
sion. We consider it an excellent substitute." Manufac- 
tured by Fred L. Lavenburg, New York, 13 cents per 
pound in 14-pound pails. Add 1 pound of lime per 
l)arrel. 

Resin-lime Mixture. 

Pulverized resin 5 pounds 

Concentrated lye 1 pound 

Fish-oil, or any cheap animal-oil except tallow. 1 pint 
Water 5 gallons 

Place oil, resin, and a gallon of water in an iron kettle 
and heat until resin is softened; add lye solution made as 



288 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

for hard soap; stir thoroughly; add remainder of water 
and boil about two hours, or until the mixture will unite 
with cold water making a clear, amber-colored liquid. If 
the mixture has boiled away too much, add sutticient boil- 
ing water to make 5 gallons. 

For use, dilute 1 gallon of this stock solution with 16 
gallons of water, add 3 gallons of milk of lime, or white- 
wash, and ^ pound Paris green or other arsenite. 

Used on plants with a very smooth foliage. 

Poisoned Bran Mash. 

Wheat bran 40 joounds 

Molasses (cheapest) 2 quarts 

Arsenite (dry) 1 pound 

Water Enough to make a thick mash 

Mix the arsenite with the dry bran. Stir the molasses 
into about a gallon of warm water, and pour over poisoned 
bran, stirring thoroughly, then adding enough water to 
make a stiff mash. Apply as near evening as possible, a 
heaping tablespoonful near each plant. Keep poultry out 
of fields thus treated. For cutworms apply a day or two 
before setting plants. 

CONTACT INSECTICIDES. (FOR SUCKING INSECTS.) 

Kerosene Emulsion. 

Hard soap ^ pound 

Boiling Avater 1 gallon 

Kerosene 2 gallons 

Dissolve the soap in the water, add the kerosene (away 
from the fire) and churn with a pump by pumping back 
and forth for 5 or 10 minutes. Dilute 4 to 15 times before 
applying. Dilute 10 to 12 times for plant-lice and soft- 
bodied bu2:s. 



INSECTICIDES. 289 

Kerosene-water Mixture (Kerowater). 

Kerosene and water mixed mechanically may be used in 
all cases where kerosene emulsion is advised above. The 
water is placed in one tank, and the kerosene in another, 
the two being mixed in the spray-nozzle. Any desired 
percentage of kerosene may be used. Use 10 to 20 per 
cent for plant-lice. Generally much preferable to kerosene 
emulsion, but the latter is somewhat safer upon tender 
foliage. Can be applied only with a special pump having 
a kerosene attachment (same pump may be used for 
other purposes). Pumps manufactured by Deming Co., 
Salem, 0., Goulds Co., Seneca Falls, N. Y., Spray Motor 
Co., London, Out. 

Tobacco. 

In Watej\ — Place old stems and leaves in a tight vessel, 
cover with hot water, and allow to stand several hours. 
Dilute 3 to 5 times and apply. 

Whale-oil Soap. 

For plant-lice, 1 pound to G to 8 gallons of water. 
Costs 3 to 5 cents per pound. Manufactured by James 
Good, Philadelphia, Pa., Leggett & Bro., 301 Pearl St., 
'New York, and W. H. Owen, Catawba Island, Ohio. 
Mr. Good is now making a soap containing tobacco which 
seems superior for soft-l)odied larva?. 

Pyrethrum or Insect-powder. 

Not poisonous to man in ordinary quantities, and there- 
fore used against household pests, used either as powder 
or spray. Burn in room to destroy mosquitoes. Used in 
water at a rate of 1 ounce to 12 gallons, which should stand 
a day before using. Use in hot water for immediate 
application. Keep in tight cans — deteriorates with age. 



290 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STAPLE CROPS. 

Sulphur. 
Apply at rate of 1 ounce to a gallon of water for red 
spiders and mites. Often used to rid poultry -houses of 
vermin. May be mixed with lard and rubbed on skin 
for lice that infest animals. Sprinkle in greenhouses, 
especially over steam or hot-water pipes. 

GASES. 

Carbon Bisulfide. 

Used against insects affecting stored goods and grain. 
Is a clear volatile liquid, giving off fumes heavier than air. 
Sold in 25- to 100 pound lots at 10 to 12 cents per pound. 
May be thrown directly on wheat without injury to it, or 
may be placed in shallow dishes. For wheat in store apply 
1 to 3 pounds to every 100 bushels. Make the enclosure as 
tight as possible, cover grain with blankets if necessary. 
Leave for twenty-four hours; over thirty-six hours will 
injure germinating qualities of grain. Do not inhale the 
fumes, or allow any light, cigar, or pipe around building, 
as gas IS exceedingly explosive. For open enclosure use 
1 pound to every 1000 cubic feet of space. 

Hydrocyanic Acid Gas. 

The best agent for the disinfection or fumigation of 
nursery-trees and plants, certani greenhouse insects, and 
pests of dwelling-houses, store-houses, mills, etc. Made 
by combining cyanide of potassium, sulphuric acid, and 
water. Diffuses quickly, is lighter than air, and a most 
deadly poison.* 

*See "Fumigation Methods" by W. G. Johnson. Orange Judd 
Co. 



INDEX. 



(The number of the page giving complete description is in black-face type.) 



Acvididae, 58 
Adalia bipunctata, 31 
Agriotes manciis, 51 
Agropyrum, 111 
Agrotis annexa, 196, 215, 259 
messoria, 258 
ypsilon, 215 
Aletia xj^lina, 188 
Alimentary canal, 17, 18 
American acridium, 67, 71 
Angumois grain-moth, 21, 162 
Anthomyia, egg-parasite, 63 
Anthonomus grandis, 205 
Apbidoe, on cotton, 197 
Aphis gossypii, 197 

maidi-radicis, 134 

mali, 35 
Aphidius granariaphis, 40, 116, 

118 
Army-worm, 3, 24, 79 
Beet, 263 
Fall, 84 
Aroecerus fasciculatus, 200 
Arsenites, 285 
Arsenite of lead, 286 
Arsenite of lime, 287 
Asaphes decoloratus, 51 
Ataxia crypta, 197 

Bagworm, 196 
Bean leaf-beetle, 240 
Beet aphis, 255 

Army worm, 262 
Beneficial insects, 30 
Blissus leucopterus, 52 



Blister-beetles, 251, 265 

Striped, 251 
Bordeaux mixture. 284 
Brachymena 4-pustulata. 11 
Bran-mash, poisoned, 78, 288 
Bryobia pratensis, 179 
Burning, 24 

Cacoecia rosaceana, 196 
Cadelle, 159 
Calandria granaria, 155 

oryzae, 155 
Calandridae, 141 
Calosoma calidum, 37 

scrutator, 37 
Cambala annulata, 239 
Camnula pellucida, 68 
Carbon bisulfide, 18, 168, 290 
Cathartus ad vena, 158 

gemellatus, 156, 158 
Cecidomyia destructor, 100 

leguminicola, 182 
Cephus pygmceus, 97 
Cereals, injury to, 2 
Cerotoma trifurcata, 240 
Cha?tocnema confinis, 240 
Chalcididte, 93 
Chalcis-flies, 43 
Chilocorus bivulnerus, 33 
Chinch-bug, 3, 21, 24, 52 

False, 263 
Chrysopa, 118 
Cicada, mouth -parts, 14 
Cigarette beetle, 237 
Click-beetles, 49 

291 



292 



INDEX. 



Clisiocampa americana, 41 
Clover hay- worm, 186 
Clover insects, 172 

Leaf-weevil, 177 
-mite, 179 
Root-borer, 173 
Seed-caterpillar, 185 
Seed-midge, 183 
Stem-borer, 176 
Cocclnella novemnotata, 31 
Coccinellidae, 30 
Codling moth. 21 
Coleoptera, 10 
Colorado potato-beetle, 4, 21, 

243 
Comma butterfly, 282 
Contact insecticides, 18, 284 
Corn bill-bugs, 24, 26, 141 
Ear-worm, 9, 24, 151 
Root-louse, 23, 134 
Root webworm, 130 
Root-worm, 3, 21, 125 

Western, 125 
Southern, 129 
Stalk-borer, 32, 38, 146 
Crambus caliginosellus, 130, 317 
Cotton Boll-weevil, 4, 33, 35, 204 
Boll-worm, 37, 201 
Injury to, 4 
Insects, 188 
-stainer, 199 
-worm, 4, 31, 188 
Cutworms, 31, 34, 38, 150, 195, 
214, 356 
Dingy, 150 
Granulated, 196, 315, 

359 
Greasy, 315 
Well-marked, 150 
Cyclocephala, 46 

Datura stramonium, 336 

Deschampsis, 111 

Diabrotica longicornis, 125 
13-punctata, 139 
vittata, 136, 353 

Diatrea saccharalis, 146 

Dicyphus minimus, 334 

Diplosis tritici, 133 

Diptera, 9, 10 

Disonycha triangularis, 364 

xanthomeUena, 364 



Dolerus arvensis, 119 
collaris, 119 
Drainage, 36 

Drasterius elegans, 49, 50 
Dysdercus suturellus, 199 

Elateridae, 48 

Elynius, 111 

Empusa aphidis, 183 

Ephestia kuelmiella, 159 

Epicauta pennsylvanica, 367 
vittata, 65, 366 

Epidapus scabies, 339 

Epitrix cucumeris, 330, 340, 349 
fuscula, 330, 349 
parvula, 229, 240, 249 

Eristalis tenax, 34 

Euplectrus comstockii, 193 

Euscliistus variolarius. 219 

Exorista flavicauda, 65 
leucaniae, 65 

Fall army-worm, 84, 196 

False chinch-bug, 263 

Feltia subgothica, 150 

Fertilizers, 26 

Flea-beetles, 23 

Beet, 364 
Potato, 349 
Sweet-potato, 340 
Tobacco, 339, 340 
Yellow-back, 264 

Flour-moths, 159 

Fumigation, Grain, 169 

Fungus, So. African, 77 
Chinch bug, 56 

Garden webworm, 196, 260 
Gelechia solanella, 337 
Grain beetles, 157 

Foreign, 158 
Saw-toothed, 157 
Square-necked ,158 
Grain, stored. Injury to, 3 
Grain-weevils, 31, 155 
Granary, 167 

weevil, 155 
j Grapholitha interstinctana, 185 
Grasshoppers, Cotton, 195 

Mouth parts, 13 
Grass, Injury to, 3 

Root-iouse, 134 



INDEX. 



293 



Green arsenoid, 286 

Green dolphin, 182 

Ground -beetles, 36 

Fiery, 37 
Murky, 38, 39 

Gipsy moth, 21 

Harlequin cabbage-bug, 27 
Harpalus caliginosus, 38, 247 
Harvest-mites, 7 
Hay, Injury to, 3 
Heart, 17, 18 

Heliothis armiger, 9, 151, 201, 
220 
rliexia?, 220 
Hemiptera 10 
Hessian fly, 2, 21, 23, 28, 29, 

lOO 
Hippodamia convergens. 31, 33 
Homalodisca coagulata, 198 
Honey-bee, 7 
Hop insects, 269 

-louse, 272 

-merchants, 278 

Plant-louse, 24 

Plant-borer, 269 

-vine snout-moth, 276 
Horn-worm, 231 
Hydrocyanic acid gas, 18, 290 
Hydroecia immanis, 269 
Hylastes obscurus, 172 
Hymeuoptera, 10 
Hypena humuli 276 
rostralis, 278 

Ichneumcn-flies, 39 

Indian meal -moth, 161 

Insects, How they breathe, 15 
How they feed, 11 
How they grow, 7 

Insecticides, 284 

Insect-powder, 289 

Irritants, 18 

Isosoma grande, 94 
tritici, 94 

Joint-worms, 93 

Kerosene emulsion, 18, 288 

and water mixture, 
289 
Kerowater, 289 



Lachnosterna arcuata, 45 

Ladybird-beetles, 30 

Convergent, 31 
Nine-spotted, 31, 33 
Two-spotted, 31 

Languria mozardi, 176 

Laphygma flavimaculata, 262 
frugiperda, 8-4, 196 

Lasioderma serricorne, 237 

Lasius niger alienus, 135 

Leaf-roller, 196 

Leather-jackets, 90 

Lebia grandis, 38 

Lema trilineata, 252 

Lepidoptera, 10 

Leptinotarsa 10-lineata, 243 

Leucania unipuncta, 79 

Lime, 18 

Locusts, 21, 24, 58 

Devastatino-, 68 
Difieerential, 67, 70 
Lesser migratory, 66 
Non-migratory, 66 
Pellucid, 68 
Red-lego-ed, 67, 68, 

230 
Rocky Mountain, 58 
Two- striped, 67, 69 

London purple. 286 

Loxostege similaiis, 196, 259 
sticticalis, 260 

Lydella doryphorae, 246 

Lygus pratensis, 263 

Macrobasis unicolor, 266 

Mandibles, 12 

Maxilla?, 13 

Meadow-maggots, 90, 176 

Meal-moths, 159 

Meal snout-moth, 161 

Mediterranean flour-moth, 159 

Megilla maculata, 33 

Melanoplus atlantis, 66 

bivittatus, 67, 69 
devastator, 68 
differentialis, 67, 70 
femur-rubrum, 6S3 

67, 230 
spretus, 58 

Melanotus cribulosis, 49 

Meloida?, 251, 265 

Meromyza americana. 111 



294 



INDEX. 



Metamorphosis, Complete, 8 

Incomplete, 10 
Mexican cotton boll-weevil, 305 
Mouth-parts, Biting, 12 

Sucking, 1?> 

Nectaraphora aveucT, 115 

pisi, 182, 183 
Noctua clandestiua, 150 
Noctuiche, 150 
Nysius angustatus, 263 

Ophion, 41 

macrurum, 42 
Orthoptera, 10 
Oscinis variabilis, 114 

Pachynematus extensicornis, 119 
Pachyonerus calcitrator, 98 
Pachyrrhinis sp., 90 
Palpus, 13 

Panicum glabrum, 135 
Paragreue, 287 
Parajulus impressus, 239 
Parasites, 89 
Paris green, 285 
Parthenogenesis, 136 
Pea-louse, 182 
Pemphigus betse, 255 
Peridromia saucia, 257 
Phorodon humuli, 272 
Phragmites communis, 143 
Phyltotreta vittata, 264 
Phytononus punctatus, 177 
Pimpla conquisitor, 190 

Inquisitor, maggots, 41 
Pipiza radicans, 35 
Planting, Time of, 28 
Plant-louse, mouth-parts, lo 
Plodia interpunctella, 160, 161 
Plowing, Deep fall, 24 
Poa pratensis, 111 
Poisons, 285 
Polygonia comma, 282 

interrogationis, 279 
Polygonum persicaria, 135 
Portulaca solacea, 135 
Potato-beetle, Colorado, 243 
Potatoes, Injury to, 4 
Potato insects, 239 

Scab, 239 

Stalk-borer, 2, 24, 241 



Poultry, 26 
Predaceous insects, 30 
Proctotrypid*, 43 
Protoparce Carolina, 231 

celeus, 231 
Pyralidte, 260 
Pyralis costalis, 186 

farinalis, 160, 161 
Pyrethrum, 18, 289 

Kesin-lime mixture, 288 

Respiratory system, 17 

Rice-weevil, 26, 155 

Root-lf)use, Corn, 134 
Grass, 134 
Syrphus-tly, 35 

Rotation of crops, 28 

San Jose Scale, 21 

Sarcopliaga carnaria, 65 

Sawflies, Wheat, 19 

Schizoneura panicola, 134 

Schistocerca americana, 12, G7. 
71, 196 

Sciara sp. ?, 239 

Scirpus tiuviatilis, 143 

Semicolon butterfly, 279 

Sesame grass, 149 

Setaria viridis. 111 

Sharpshooters, 198 

Silkworm, Internal anatomy, 18 

Silvanus surinamensis, 156, 157 

Sitotroga cerealella, 162 

Solanum carolinense, 228 
datura, 245 

South African fungus, 77 

Sphenophorus ochreus, 143 
obscurus, 141 
parvulus, 141 
pertinax, 144 
placid us, 144 
robustus, 142 
scoparius, 144 
sculptilis, 144 

Spiracles, 15, 16 

Sporotrichum globuliferum, 56 

Squash-bug. 24 

Structure of an insect, 6 

Suck fly, Tobacco, 224 

Sugar-beet insects, 252 

Web worm, 260 



INDEX. 



295 



Sugar-cane borer, 21 
Sulphur, 290 
Syrphidse, 34 
Syrphus americana, 35 

-flies, 34 

ribesii, 35 
Systena hudsonias, 264 

tseniata, 264 
Systoechus oreas, 63 

Tachina-flies, 63 
Tarnished plant- bug, 263 
Tenebriodes mauritanicus, 158, 

159 
Tetranychidse, 179 
Three-lined leaf -beetle, 252 
Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis, 

196 
Tipula bicornis, 90 
costalis, 90 
hebes, 91 
Tipulida?, 90 
Trachea, 16, 18 
Trap-crops, 26 
Trichobaris trinotata, 24 
Trichograrama pretiosa, 192 
Tripsacum dactyloides, 149 
Trombidium locustarum, 63, 64 
Tobacco bud -worms, 220 
-bug, Spined, 219 



Tobacco dust, 18 

Flea-beetle, 229 
Injury to, 4 
Insecticide, 289 
Insects, 214 
Leaf-miner, 227 
Stalk- worm, 217 
-worm, 231 

Web worms, Beet, 259 

Corn-root, 130 
Weeds, 23 
Weevil, Grain, 155 
Western Corn root-w^orm, 29 

125 
Whale-oil soap, 18, 289 
Wheat insects, 90 

Isosoma, 29 

Joint-worm, 22, 24, 93 

-louse, 115 

Plant-louse, 29 

-maggots, 111 

■midge, 122 

Saw-tiies, 119 

Saw-fly borer, 97 

Stem- maggot. 111 

Straw-w^orm, 96 
White grubs, 28, 44:, 252 
Winthemia 4-pustulata, 83 
AVireworms, 24, 28, 29, 48, 252 



SHORT-TITLE CATALOGUE 

OF THE 

PUBLICATIONS 

OF 

JOHN WILEY & SONS,. 

New York. 
London: CHAPMAX & HALL, Limited. 



ARRANGED UNDER SUBJECTS. 



Descriptive circulars sent on application. 

Books marked with an asteiisk are sold at net prices only. 

All books are bound in cloth unless otherwise stated. 



AGRICULTITRE. 

Armsby's Manual of Cattle-feeding 12mo, $1 75- 

Downing's Fruits and Fruit-trees of America 8vo, 5 OO 

Grotenfelt's Principles of Modern Dairy Practice. (Woll.) . . 12mo, 2 Oa 

Kemp's Landscape Gardening 12mo, 2 50 

Maynard's Landscape Gardening as Applied to Home Decora- 
tion 12mo, 1 50 

Stockbridge's Rocks and Soils 8vo, 2 50 

Woll's Handbook for Farmers and Dairymen 16mo, 1 50 

ARCHITECTURE. 

Baldwin's Steam Heating for Buildings 12mo, 2 50 

Berg's Buildings and Structures of American Railroads .... 4to, 5 00 

Birkmire's Planning and Construction of American Theatres.Svo, 3 00 

" Architectural Iron and Steel 8vo, 3 50 

" Compound Riveted Girders as Applied in Build- 
ings 8vo, 2 00^ 

" Planning and Construction of High Office Build- 
ings 8vo, 3 50 

" Skeleton Construction in Buildings 8vo, 3 00 

Briggs's Modern American School Buildings 8vo, 4 00 • 

Carpenter's Heating and Ventilating of Buildings 8vo, 3 00^ 

Freitag's Architectural Engineering 8vo, 3 50 

" Fireproofing oi Steel Buildings 8vo, 2 50 

Gerhard's Guide to Sanitary House-inspection 16mo, 1 00 

" Theatre Fires and Panics 12mo, 1 50 

Hatfield's American House Carpenter 8vo, 5 00 

Holly's Carpenters' and Joiners' Handbook 18mo, 75 

Kidder's Architect's and Builder's Pocket-book.. 16mo, morocco, 4 00 

Merrill's Stones for Building and Decoration 8vo, 5 OO- 

1 



Monckton's Stair-building 4to 4 00 

Patton's Practical Treatise on Foundations 8vo, 5 00 

Siebert and Biggin's Modem Stone-cutting and Masonry .. 8vo, 1 60 

Wait's Engineering and Architectural Jurisprudence 8vo, 6 00 

Sheep, 6 50 
" Law of Operations Preliminary to Construction in En- 
gineering and Architecture Bvo, 5 00 

Sheep, 5 50 

" Law of Contracts 8vo, 3 00 

Woodbury's Fire Protection of Mills 8vo, 2 50 

Worcester and Atkinson's Small Hospitals, Establishment and 
Maintenance, and Suggestions for Hospital Architecture, 

with Plans for a Small Hospital 12mo, 1 25 

The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 Large 4to, 1 00 

ARMY AND NAVY. 

Bemadou's Smokeless Powder, Nitro-cellulose, and the Theory 

of the Cellulose Molecule 12mo, 2 50 

* Bruff's Text-book of Ordnance and Gunnery Bvo, 6 00 

Chase's Screw Propellers and Marine Propulsion 8vo, 3 00 

Craig's Azimuth 4to, 3 50 

Crehore and Squire's Polarizing Photo-chronograph 8vo, 3 00 

Cronkhite's Gunnery for Non-commissioned Officers..24mo, mor., 2 00 

* Davis's Elements of Law 8vo, 2 50 

* " Treatise on the Military Law of United States. . .8vo, 7 00 

* Sheep, 7 50 

De Brack's Cavalry Outpost Duties. (Carr.) 24mo, morocco, 2 00 

Dietz's Soldier's First Aid Handbook 16mo, morocco, 1 25 

* Dredge's Modern French Artillery 4to, half morocco, 15 00 

Durand's Resistance and Propulsion of Ships 8vo, 5 00 

* Dyer's Handbook of Light Artillery 12mo, 3 00 

Eissler's Modem High Explosives Bvo, 4 00 

* Fiebeger's Text-book on Field Fortification Small Bvo, 2 00 

* Hoff's Elementary Naval Tactics. ". Bvo, 1 50 

Ingalls's Handbook of Problems in Direct Fire Bvo, 4 00 

* " Ballistic Tables Bvo, 1 50 

Lyons's Treatise on Electromagnetic Phenomena Bvo, 6 00 

*Mahan's Permanent Fortifications. (Mercur's.).Bvo, half mor. 7 50 

Manual for Courts-martial 16mo, morocco, 1 50 

* Mercur's Attack of Fortified Places 12mo, 2 00 

* " Elements of the Art of War Bvo, 4 00 

Metcalfe's Cost of Manufactures — And the Administration of 

Workshops, Public and Private Bvo, 5 00 

" Ordnance and Gunnery 12mo, 5 00 

Murray's Infantry Drill Regulations IBmo, paper, 10 

* Phelps's Practical Marine Surveying Bvo, 2 50 

Powell's Army Oflacer's Examiner 12mo, 4 00 

3 



^harpe's Art of Subsisting Armies in War 18mo, morocco, 1 50 

Walke's Lectures on Explosives 8vo 4 00 

* Wheeler's Siege Operations and Military Mining^^ 8vo, 2 00 

Winthrop's Abridgment of Military Law 12mo, 2 50 

Woodhull's Notes on Military Hygiene 16mo, 1 50 

Young's Simple Elements of Navigation 16mo, morocco, 1 00 

Second Edition, Enlarged and Revised 16mo, mor., 2 00 

ASSAYING. 

Fletcher's Practical Instructions in Quantitative Assaying with 

the Blowpipe 12mo, morocco, 1 50 

Furman's Manual of Practical Assaying Svo, 3 00 

Miller's Manual of Assaying 12mo, 1 00 

O'DriscoU's Notes on the Treatment of Gold Ores Svo, 2 00 

Ricketts and Miller's Notes on Assaying. Svo, 3 00 

Wilson's Cyanide Processes 12mo, 1 50 

" Chlorination Process -. 12mo, 1 50 

ASTRONOMY. 

Craig's Azimuth 4to, 3 50 

Doolittle's Treatise on Practical Astronomy Svo, 4 00 

Oore's Elements of Geodesy Svo, 2 50 

Hayford's Text-book of Geodetic Astronomy Svo, 3 00 

Merriman's Elements of Precise Surveying and Geodesy Svo, 2 50 

* Michie and Harlow's Practical Astronomy Svo, 3 00 

* White's Elements of Theoretical and Descriptive Astronomy. 

12mo, 2 00 
BOTANY. 

Baldwin's Orchids of New England Small Svo, 1 50 

Davenport's Statistical Methods, with Special Reference to Bio- 
logical Variation 16mo, morocco, 1 25 

Thom§ and Bennett's Structural and Physiological Botany. 

16mo, 
Westermaier's Compendium of General Botany. (Schneider.) Svo, 

CHEMISTRY. 

Adriance's Laboratory Calculations and Specific Gravity Tables, 

12mo, 

Allen's Tables for Iron Analysis Svo, 

Arnold's Compendium of Chemistry. (Mandel.) {In preparation.) 

Austen's Notes for Chemical Students 12mo, 

Bemadou's Smokeless Powder. — Nitro-cellulose, and Theory of 

the Cellulose Molecule 12mo, 

Bolton's Quantitative Analysis Svo, 

Brush and Penfield's Manual of Determinative Mineralogy..8vo, 
Classen's Quantitative Chemical Analysis by Electrolysis. (Her- 

rick— Boltwood.) Svo, 3 00 



2 25 


2 00 


1 25 


3 00 


1 50 


2 50 


1 50 


4 00 



Cohn's Indicators and Test-papers 12mo, 2 00 

Craft's Short Course in Qualitative Chemical Analysis. (Schaef- 

fer.) 12mo, 2 00 

Dreehsers Chemical Reactions. (Merrill.) 12mo, 1 25 

Eissler's Modern High Explosives 8vo, 4 00 

Effront's Enzymes and their Applications. (Prescott.) {In preparation.) 
Erdmann's Introduction to Chemical Preparations. (Dunlap.) 

12mo, 1 25 
Fletcher's Practical Instructions in Quantitative Assaying with 

the Blowpipe 12mo, morocco, 1 50 

Fresenius's Manual of Qualitative Chemical Analysis. (Wells.) 

8vo, 5 00 
" System of Instruction in Quantitative Chemical 

Analysis. (Allen.) 8vo, 6 00 

Fuertes's Water and Public Health 12mo, 1 50 

Furman's Manual of Practical Assaying Svo, 3 00 

Gill's Gas and Fuel Analysis for Engineers 12mo, 1 25 

Grotenfelt's Principles of Modern Dairy Practice. ( Woll.) . . 12mo, 2 00 
Hammarsten's Text-book of Physiological Chemistry. (Mandel.) 

Svo, 4 00 
Helm's Principles of Mathematical Chemistry. (Morgan.) ,12mo, 1 50 
Holleman's Text-book of Inorganic Chemistry. (Cooper.) 

{In preparation.) 

Hopkins's Oil-chemists' Handbook Svo, 3 00 

Keep's Cast Iron. {In preparation.) 

Ladd's Manual of Quantitative Chemical Analysis 12mo, 1 00 

Landauer's Spectrum Analysis. (Tingle.) Svo, 3 00 

Lassar-Cohn's Practical Urinary Analysis. (Lorenz.) {In preparation.) 
Lob's Electrolysis and Electrosynthesis of Organic Compounds. 

(Lorenz.) 12mo, 1 00 

Mandel's Handbook for Bio-chemical Laboratory 12mo, 1 50 

Mason's Water-supply. (Considered Principally from a Sani- 
tary Standpoint.) Svo, 5 00 

" Examination of Water. (Chemical and Bacterio- 
logical.) 12mo, 1 25 

Meyer's Determination of Radicles in Carbon Compounds. 

(Tingle.) 12mo, 100 

Miller's Manual of Assaying 12mo, 1 00 

Mixter's Elementary Text-book of Chemistry 12mo, 1 50 

Morgan's Outline of Theory of Solution and its Results . . . 12mo, 1 00 

" Elements of Physical Chemistry 12mo, 2 00 

Nichols's Water-supply. (Considered mainly from a Chemical 

and Sanitary Standpoint, 1883.) Svo, 2 50 

O'Brine's Laboratory Guide in Chemical Analysis Svo, 2 00 

O'Driscoll's Notes on the Treatment of Gold Ores Svo, 2 00 

Ost and Kolbeck's Text-book of Chemical Technology. (Lor- 
enz— Bozart.) {In preparation.) 
4 



* Penfield's Notes on Determinative Mineralogy and Record of 

Mineral Tests 8vo, paper, 50 

Pinner's Introduction to Organic Chemistry. (Austen.) . . . 12mo, 1 50 

Poole's Calorific Power of Fuels 8vo, 3 00 

* Eeisig's Guide to Piece-dyeing 8vo, 26 00 

Richards and Woodman's Air, Water, and Food from a Sanitary 

Standpoint Svo, 2 00 

Richards's Cost of Living as Modified by Sanitary Science. 12mo, 1 00 

" Cost of Food, a Study in Dietaries 12ma, 1 00 

Ricketts and Russell's Skeleton Notes upon Inorganic Chem- 
istry. (Parti. — Non-metallic Elements.). . Svo, morocco, 75 

Ricketts and Miller's Notes on Assaying Svo, 3 00 

Rideal's Sewage and the Bacterial Purification of Sewage. .Svo, 3 50 

Ruddiman's Incompatibilities in Prescriptions Svo, 2 00 

Schimpf's Text-book of Volumetric Analysis 12mo, 2 50 

Spencer's Handbook for Chemists of Beet-sugar Houses. 

16mo, morocco, 3 GO 
" Handbook for Sugar Manufacturers and their Chem- 
ists 16mo, morocco, 2 00 

Stockbridge's Rocks and Soils Svo, 2 50 

* Tillman's Elementary Lessons in Heat Svo, 1 50 

* " Descriptive General Chemistry Svo, 3 00 

Turneaure and Russell's Public Water-supplies Svo, 5 00 

Van Deventer's Physical Chemistry for Beginners. (Boltwood.) 

12mo, 1 50 

Walke's Lectures on Explosives Svo, 4 00 

Wells's Laboratory Guide in Qualitative Chemical Analysis. 

..Svo, 1 50 
" Short Course in Inorganic Qualitative Chemical Analy- 
sis for Engineering Students 12mo, 1 50 

Whipple's Microscopy of Drinking-water Svo, 3 50 

Wiechmann's Sugar Analysis Small Svo, 2 50 

" Lecture-notes on Theoretical Chemistry. .. .12mo, 3 00 

Wilson's Cyanide Processes 12mo, 1 50 

" Chlorination Process 12mo, 1 50 

Wulling's Elementary Course in Inorganic Pharmaceutical and 

Medical Chemistry 12mo, 2 00 

CIVIL ENGINEERING. 

BRIDGES AND ROOFS. HYDRAULICS. MATERIALS OF 
ENGINEERING. RAILWAY ENGINEERING. 

Baker's Engineers' Surveying Instruments 12mo, 3 00 

Bixby's Graphical Computing Table Paper, 19^ x 24| inches. 25 

Davis's Elevation and Stadia Tables Svo, 1 00 

Folwell's Sewerage. (Designing and Maintenance.) Svo, 3 00 

Freit^g's Architectural Engineering Svo, 3 50 

5 



Goodhue's Municipal Improvements 12mo, 1 7& 

Goodrich's Economic Disposal of Towns' Refuse 8vo, 3 50 

Gore's Elements of Geodesy 8vo, 2 50 

Hayford's Text-book of Geodetic Astronomy 8vo, 3 00 

Howe's Retaining- walls for Earth 12mo, 1 25- 

Johnson's Theory and Practice of Surveying Small Svo, 4 00 

" Stadia and Earth-work Tables Svo, 1 25^ 

Kiersted's Sewage Disposal 12mo, 1 2& 

Mahan's Treatise on Civil Engineering. (1873.) (Wood.) . .8vo, 5 00 

* Mahan's Descriptive Geometry 8vo, 1 50 

Merriman's Elements of Precise Surveying and Geodesy 8vo, 2 50 

Merriman and Brooks's Handbook for Surveyors 16mo, mor., 2 00 

Merriman's Elements of Sanitary Engineering 8vo, 2 00 

Nugent's Plane Surveying. (In preparation.) 

Ogden's Sewer Design 12mo, 2 00 

Patton's Treatise on Civil Engineering Svo, half leather, 7 60 

Reed's Topographical Drawing and Sketching 4to, 5 00 

Rideal's Sewage and the Bacterial Purification of Sewage . . Svo, 3 50 

Siebert and Biggin's Modern Stone-cutting and Masonry. .Svo, 1 50 

Smith's Manual of Topographical Drawing. (McMillan.) .. Svo, 2 50 

*Trautwine's Civil Engineer's Pocket-book 16mo, morocco, 5 00 

Wait's Engineering and Architectural Jurisprudence Svo, 6 00 

Sheep, 6 50 
" Law of Operations Preliminary to Construction in En- 
gineering and Architecture Svo, 5 00 

Sheep, 5 50 

" Law of Contracts Svo, 3 00 

Warren's Stereotomy — Problems in Stone-cutting Svo, 2 50 

Webb's Problems in the Use and Adjustment of Etigineering 

Instruments 16mo, morocco, 1 2& 

* Wheeler's Elementary Course of Civil Engineering Svo, 4 00 

Wilson's Topographic Surveying Svo, 3 50 

BRIDGES AND ROOFS. 

Boiler's Practical Treatise on the Construction of Iron Highway 

Bridges Svo, 2 00 

* Boiler's Thames River Bridge 4to, paper, 6 OO 

Burr's Course on the Stresses in Bridges and Roof Trusses, 

Arched Ribs, and Suspension Bridges Svo, 3 50 

Du Bois's Stresses in Framed Structures Small 4to, 10 00 

Foster's Treatise on Wooden Trestle Bridges 4to, 5 OO 

Fowler's Coffer-dam Process for Piers Svo, 2 50 

Greene's Roof Trusses 8vo, 1 25 

" Bridge Trusses 8vo, 2 50 

" Arches in Wood, Iron, and Stone Svo, 2 50 

Howe's Treatise on Arches 8vo, 4 00 

6 



Johnson, Bryan and Turneaure's Theory and Practice in the 

Designing of Modern Framed Structures Small 4to, 10 00 

Meniman and Jaeoby's Text-book on Roofs and Bridges: 

Part I.— Stresses in Simple Trusses 8vo, 2 50 

Part II.— Graphic Statics 8vo, 2 00 

Part III.— Bridge Design. Fourth Ed. {In preparation.) . .8vo, 2 50 

Part IV.— Higher Structures Svo, 2 50 

Morison's Memphis Bridge 4to, 10 00 

Waddell's De Pontibus, a Pocket Book for Bridge Engineers. 

16mo, mor., 3 00 

" Specifications for Steel Bridges 12mo, 1 25 

Wood's Treatise on the Theory of the Construction of Bridges 

and Roofs Svo, 2 Oa 

Wright's Designing of Draw-spans: 

Part I. — Plate-girder Draws Svo, 2 50 

Part II. — Riveted-truss and Pin-connected Long-span Draws. 

Svo, 2 50 

Two parts in one volume Svo, 3 50 

HYDRAULICS. 

Bazin's Experiments upon the Contraction of the Liquid Vein 

Issuing from an Orifice. (Trautwine.) Svo, 

Bovey's Treatise on Hydraulics Svo, 

Church's Mechanics of Engineering Svo, 

Ooflfin's Graphical Solution of Hydraulic Problems. .16mo, mor., 
Flather's Dynamometers, and the Measurement of Power. 12mo, 

Folwell's Water-supply Engineering Svo, 

Frizell's Water-power Svo, 

Fuertes's Water and Public Health 12mo, 

" Water-filtration Works 12mo, 

Ganguillet and Kutter's General Formula for the Uniform 
Flow of Water in Rivers and Other Channels. ( Ber- 
ing and Trautwine.) Svo, 

Hazen's Filtration of Public Water-supply Svo, 

Hazleurst's Towers and Tanks for Water-works Svo, 

Herschel's 115 Experiments on the Carrying Capacity of Large, 

Riveted, Metal Conduits Svo, 

Mason's Water-supply. (Considered Principally from a Sani- 
tary Standpoint.) Svo, 

Merriman's Treatise on Hydraulics Svo, 

* Michie's Elements of Analytical Mechanics Svo, 

Schuyler's Reservoirs for Irrigation, Water-power, and Domestic 

Water-supply Large Svo, 

Turneaure and Russell. Public Water-supplies Svo, 

Wegmann's Design and Construction of Dams 4to, 

" Water-supply of the City of New York from 165S to 

1895 4to, 

Weisbach's Hydraulics and Hydraulic Motors. (Du Bois.) . .Svo, 

Wilson's Manual of Irrigation Engineering Small Svo, 

Wolff's Windmill as a Prime Mover Svo, 

Wood's Turbines Svo, 

" Elements of Analytical Mechanics Svo, 

MATERIALS OF ENGINEERING. 

Baker's Treatise on Masonry Construction Svo, 

Black's United States Public Works Oblong 4to, 

Bovey's Strength of Materials and Theory of Structures. . . .Svo, 

7 " 



2 00 


5 00 


6 00 


2 50 


3 00 


4 00 


5 00 


1 50 


2 50 


4 OO 


3 00 


2 50 


2 00 


5 00 


4 00 


4 00 


5 00 


5 00 


5 00 


10 OO 


5 OO 


4 00 


3 OO 


2 60 


3 OO 


5 OO 


5 OO 


7 50 



Burr's Elasticity and Eesistance of the Materials of Engineer- 
ing ,..8va, 5 00 

Byrne's Highway Construction 8vo, 5 00 

" Inspection of the Materials and Workmanship Eim- 

ployed in Construction 16mo, 3 00 

Church's Mechanics of Engineering 8vo, 6 00 

Du Bois's Mechanics of Engineering. Vol. I Small 4to, 10 00 

Johnson's Materials of Construction Large Svo, 6 00 

Keep's Cast Iron. {In preparation.) 

Lanza's Applied Mechanics Svo, 7 50 

Martens's Handbook on Testing Materials. (Henning.) 

2 vols., Svo, 7 50 

Merrill's Stones for Building and Decoration *. . Svo, 6 00 

Merriman's Text-book on the Mechanics of Materials Svo, 4 00 

Merriman's Strength of Materials 12mo, 1 00 

Metealfs Steel. A Manual for Steel-users 12mo, 2 00 

Patton's Practical Treatise on Foundations Svo, 5 00 

Rockwell's Roads and Pavements in France 12mo, 1 25 

Smith's Wire: Its Use and Manufacture Small 4to, 3 00 

Spalding's Hydraulic Cement 12mo, 2 00 

" Text-book on Roads and Pavements 12mo, 2 00 

Thurston's Materials of Engineering 3 Parts, Svo, 8 00 

Part I. — Non-metallic Materials of Engineering and Metal- 
lurgy Svo, 2 00 

Part II.— Iron and Steel Svo, 3 50 

Part III. — A Treatise on Brasses, Bronzes and Other Alloys 

and Their Constituents Svo, 2 50 

Thurston's Text-book of the Materials of Construction Svo, 5 00 

Tillson's Street Pavements and Paving Materials Svo, 4 00 

Waddell's De Pontibus. (A Pocket-book for Bridge Engineers.) 

16mo, morocco, 3 00 

" Specifications for Steel Bridges 12mo, 1 25 

Wood's Treatise on the Resistance of Materials, and an Ap- 
pendix on the Preservation of Timber Svo, 2 00 

" Elements of Analytical Mechanics Svo, 3 00 

RAILWAY ENGINEERING. 

Berg's Buildings and Structures of American Railroads. .4to, 5 00 

Brooks's Handbook of Street Railroad Location.. 16mo, morocco, 1 50 

Butts's Civil Engineer's Field-book 16mo, morocco, 2 50 

Crandall's Transition Curve 16mo, morocco, 1 50 

" Railway and Other Earthwork Tables Svo, 1 50 

Dawson's Electric Railways and Tramways. Small 4to, half mor., 12 50 

" " Engineering " and Electric Traction Pocket-book. 

16mo, morocco, 4 00 

Dredge's History of the Pennsylvania Railroad: (1879.) .Paper, 5 00 
• Drinker's Tunneling, Explosive Compounds, and Rock Drills. 

4to, half morocco, 25 00 

Fisher's Table of Cubic Yards Cardboard, 25 

Oodwin's Railroad Engineers' Field-book and Explorers' Guide. 

16mo, morocco, 2 50 

Howard's Transition Curve Field-book 16mo, morocco, 1 50 

Hudson's Tables for Calculating the Cubic Contents of Exca- 
vations and Embankments Svo, 1 00 

Nagle's Field Manual for Railroad Engineers 16mo, morocco, 3 00 

Philbrick's Field Manual for Engineers 16mo, morocco, 3 00 

Pratt and Alden's Street-railway Road-bed Svo, 2 00 



Searles's Field Engineering 16mo, morocco, 3 00 

" Railroad Spiral 16mo, morocco, 1 50 

Taylor's Prismoidal Formulae and Earthwork 8vo, 1 50 

* Trautwine's Method of Calculating the Cubic Contents of Ex- 

cavations and Embankments by the Aid of Dia- 
grams 8vo, 2 00 

* " The Field Practice of Laying Out Circular Curves 

for Railroads 12mo, morocco, 2 50 

* " Cross-section Sheet Paper, 25 

Webb's Railroad Construction 8vo, 4 00 

Wellington's Economic Theory of the Location of Railways. . 

Small Svo, 5 00 



DRAWING. 

Barr's Kinematics of Machinery Svo, 2 50 

* Bartlett's Mechanical Drawing Svo, 3 00 

Durley's Elementary Text-book of the Kinematics of Machines . 

{In preparation.) 

Hill's Text-book on Shades and Shadows, and Perspective. . Svo, 2 00 
Jonee's Machine Design: 

Part I. — Kinematics of Machinery Svo, 1 50 

Part II. — Form, Strength and Proportions of Parts Svo, 3 00 

MacCord's Elements of Descriptive Geometry Svo, 3 00 

" Kinematics; or. Practical Mechanism Svo, 5 00 

" Mechanical Drawing 4to, 4 00 

" Velocity Diagrams Svo, 1 50 

* Mahan's Descriptive Geometry and Stone-cutting Svo, 1 50 

Mahan's Industrial Drawing. (Thompson.) Svo, 3 60 

Reed's Topographical Drawing and Sketching 4to, 6 00 

Reid's Course in Mechanical Drawing Svo, 2 00 

" Text-book of Mechanical Drawing and Elementary Ma- 
chine Design Svo, 3 00 

Robinson's Principles of Mechanism Svo, 3 00 

Smith's Manual of Topographical Drawing. (McMillan.) .Svo, 2 50 
Warren's Elements of Plane and Solid Free-hand Geometrical 

Drawing 12mo, 1 00 

" Drafting Instruments and Operations 12mo, I 25 

" Manual of Elementary Projection Drawing. .. .12mo, 1 50 
" Manual of Elementary Problems in the Linear Per- 
spective of Form and Shadow 12mo, 1 00 

" Plane Problems in Elementary Geometry 12mo, 1 25 

" Primary Geometry 12mo, 75 

" Elements of Descriptive Geometry, Shadows, and Per- 
spective Svo, 3 50 

" General Problems of Shades and Shadows Svo, 3 00 

" Elements of Machine Construction and Drawing. .Svo, 7 50 
" Problems, Theorems, and Examples in Descriptive 

Geometry Svo, 2 50 

Weisbach's Kinematics and the Power of Transmission. (Herr- 
mann and Klein.) Svo, 5 00 

Whelpley's Practical Instruction in the Art of Letter En- 
graving 12mo, 2 00 

Wilson's Topographic Surveying Svo, 3 50 

Wilson's Free-hand Perspective Svo, 2 5d 

Woolf's Elementary Course in Descriptive Geometry. .Large Svo, 3 00 



ELECTRICITY AND PHYSICS. ' 

Anthony and Brackett's Text-book of Physics. (Magie.) 

Small 8vo, 3 00 
Anthony's Lecture-notes on the Theory of Electrical Measur- 

ments 12mo, 1 00 

Benjamin's History of Electricity 8vo, 3 00 

Benjamin's Voltaic Cell 8vo, 3 00 

Classen's Qantitative Chemical Analysis by Electrolysis. Her- 

rick and Boltwood.) 8vo, 3 00 

Crehore and Squier's Polarizing Photo-chronograph 8vo, 3 00 

Dawson's Electric Railways and Tramways.. Small 4to, half mor., 12 50 
Dawson's " Engineering " and Electric Traction Pocket-book. 

16mo, morocco, 4 00 

Flather's Dynamometers, and the Measurement of Power. . 12mo, 3 00 

Gilbert's De Magnete. (Mottelay.) 8vo, 2 60 

Holman's Precision of Measurements 8vo, 2 OO 

" Telescopic Mirror-scale Method, Adjustments, and 

Tests Large 8vo, 75 

Landauer's Spectrum Analysis. (Tingle.) 8vo, 3 00 

Le Chatelier's High- temperature Measurements. (Boudouard — 

Burgess.) 12mo, 3 00 

LOb's Electrolysis and Electrosynthesis of Organic Compounds. 

(Lorenz.) 12mo, 1 00 

Lyons's Treatise on Electromagnetic Phenomena 8vo, 6 00 

* Michie. Elements of Wave Motion Relating to Sound and 

Light 8vo, 4 00 

Niaudet's Elementary Treatise on Electric Batteries (Fish- 
back.) 12mo, 2 50 

• Parshall and Hobart's Electric Generators..Small 4to, half mor., 10 00 
Thurston's Stationary Steam-engines 8vo, 2 50 

* Tillman. Elementary Lessons in Heat 8vo, 1 50 

Tory and Pitcher. Manual of Laboratory Physics . . Small 8vo, 2 00 

LAW. 

• Davis. Elements of Law 8vo, 2 60 

* " Treatise on the Military Law of United States. .8vo, 7 Od 

♦ Sheep, 7 50 

Manual for Courts-martial 16mo, morocco, 1 50 

Wait's Engineering and Architectural Jurisprudence 8vo, 6 00 

Sheep, 6 50 
" Law of Operations Preliminary to Construction in En- 
gineering and Architecture 8vo, 5 00 

Sheep, 5 50 

" Law of Contracts 8vo, 3 00 

Winthrop's Abridgment of Military Law 12mo, 2 50 

MANUFACTURES. 

Beaumont's Woollen and Worsted Cloth Manufacture. . . . 12mo, 1 50 
Bernadou's Smokeless Powder — Nitro-cellulose and Theory of 

the Cellulose Molecule i2mo, 2 50 

Bolland's Iron Founder 12mo, cloth, 2 50 

" The Iron Founder " Supplement 12mo, 2 50 

" Encyclopedia of Founding and Dictionary of Foundry 

Terms Used in the Practice of Moulding. . . .12mo, 3 00 

Eissler's Modem High Explosives 8vo, 4 00 

Eflfront's Enzymes and their Applications. (Prescott.) {In preparation,} 

Fitzgerald's Boston Machinist 18mo, 1 OO 

10 



Ford's Boiler Making for Boiler Makers 18mo, 1 OO 

Hopkins's Oil-chemists' Handbook 8vo, 3 OO 

Keep's Cast Iron. (In preparation.) 

Metealf 8 Steel. A Manual for Steel-users 12mo, 2 OO 

Metcalfs Cost of Manufactures — ^And the Administration of 

Workshops, Public and Private 8vo, 5 00 

Meyer's Modem Locomotive Construction 4to, 10 00 

* Reisig's Guide to Piece-dyeing Svo, 25 OO 

Smith's Press-working of Metals Svo, 3 00 

" Wire : Its Use and Manufacture Small 4to, 3 00 

Spalding's Hydraulic Cement 12mo, 2 OO 

Spencer's Handbook for Chemists of Beet-sugar Houses. 

16mo, morocco, 3 OO 
" Handbook for Sugar Manufacturers and their Chem- 
ists 16mo, morocco, 2 OO 

Thurston's Manual of Steam-boilers, their Designs, Construc- 
tion and Operation Svo, 5 OO 

Walke's Lectures on Explosives Svo, 4 00 

West's American Foundry Practice 12mo, 2 60 

" Moulder's Text-book 12mo, 2 50 

Wiechmann's Sugar Analysis Small Svo, 2 50 

Wolff's Windmill as a Prime Mover Svo, 3 00 

Woodbury's Fire Protection of Mills Svo, 2 50 



MATHEMATICS. 

Baker's Elliptic Functions Svo, 1 50 

* Bass's Elements of Differential Calculus 12mo, 4 00 

Briggs's Elements of Plane Analytic Geometry 12mo, 1 00 

Chapman's Elementary Course in Theory of Equations. . .12mo, 1 50 

Compton's Manual of Logarithmic Computations 12mo, 1 50 

Davis's Introduction to the Logic of Algebra Svo, 1 50 

Halsted's Elements of Geometry Svo, 1 75 

" Elementary Synthetic Geometry Svo, 1 60 

Johnson's Three- place Logarithmic Tables : Vest-pocket size, pap., 15- 

100 copies for 5 00 
Mounted on heavy cardboard, S X 10 inches, 25- 

10 copies for 2 OO 
" Elementary Treatise on the Integral Calculus. 

Small Svo, 1 50 

" Curve Tracing in Cartesian Co-ordinates 12mo, 1 OO 

" Treatise on Ordinary and Partial Differential 

Equations Small Svo, 3 50 

" Theory of Errors and the Method of Least 
Squares 12mo, 

* " Theoretical Mechanics 12mo, 

•Ludlow and Bass. Elements of Trigonometry and Logarith- 
mic and Other Tables Svo, 

« Trigonometry. Tables published separately. .Each, 

Merriman and Woodward. Higher Mathematics Svo, 

Merriman's Method of Least Squares Svo, 

Rice and Johnson's Elementary Treatise on the Differential 

Calculus Small Svo, 

" Differential and Integral Calculus. 2 vols. 

in one Small Svo, 

Wood's Elements of Co-ordinate Geometry Svo, 

" Trigometry: Analytical, Plane, and Spherical 12mo, 1 OO 

11 



1 50 
3 OO 


3 00 
2 00 
5 00 
2 0© 


3 OO 


2 50 
2 OO 



MECHANICAL ENGINEERING. 

MATERIALS OF ENGINEERING, STEAM ENGINES 

AND BOILERS. 

Baldwin's Steam Heating for Buildings 12 mo, 

Barr's Kinematics of Machinery 8vo, 

* Bartlett's Mechanical Drawing 8ve, 

Benjamin's Wrinkles and Recipes 12mo, 

Carpenter's Experimental Engineering 8vo, 

" Heating and Ventilating Buildings Svo, 

Clerk's Gas and Oil Engine Small Svo, 

Cromwell's Treatise on Toothed Gearing 12mo, 

" Treatise on Belts and Pulleys 12mo, 

Durley's Elementary Text-book of the Kinematics of Machines. 

{In preparation.) 
Flather's Dynamometers, and the Measurement of Power . . 12mo, 

" Rope Driving 12mo, 

Cill's Gas an Fuel Analysis for Engineers 12mo, 

Hall's Car Lubrication 12mo, 

Jones's Machine Design: 

Part I. — Kinematics of Machinery Svo, 

Part II. — Form, Strength and Proportions of Parts Svo, 

Kent's Mechanical Eiigineers' Pocket-book 16mo, morocco, 

Kerr's Power and Power Transmission. {In preparation.) 

MacCord's Kinematics; or. Practical Mechanism Svo, 

'* Mechanical Drawing 4to, 

" Velocity Diagrams Svo, 

Mahan's Industrial Drawing. (Thompson.) Svo, 

Poole's Calorific Power of Fuels Svo, 

Reid's Course in Mechanical Drawing Svo, 

" Text-book of Mechanical Drawing and Elementary 

Machine Design Svo, 

Richards's Compressed Air 12mo, 

Robinson's Principles of Mechanism Svo, 

Smith's Press-working of Metals Svo, 

Thurston's Treatise on Friction and Lost Work in Machin- 
ery and Mill Work Svo, 

" Animal as a Machine and Prime Motor and the 

Laws of Energetics 12mo, 

Warren's Elements of Machine Construction and Drawing. .Svo, 
"Weisbach's Kinematics and the Power of Transmission. (Herr- 
mann—Klein.) Svo, 

" Machinery of Transmission and Governors. (Herr- 
mann—Klein.) Svo, 

" Hydraulics and Hydraulic Motors. (Du Bois.) .Svo, 

"Wolff's Windmill as a Prime Mover Svo, 

Wood's Turbines Svo, 

MATERIALS OF ENGINEERING. 

Bovey's Strength of Materials and Theory of Structures. .Svo, 7 50 
Burr's Elasticity and Resistance of the Materials of Engineer- 
ing Svo, 5 00 

'Church's Mechanics of Engineering Svo, 6 00 

-Johnson's Materials of Construction Large Svo, 6 00 

Keep's Cast Iron. {In preparation.) 

Ivanza's Applied Mechanics Svo, 7 50 

IMartens's Handbook on Testing Materials. (Henning.) Svo, 7 50 

-Merriman'9 Text-book on the Mechanics of Materials .... Svo, 4 00 

Strength of Materials 12mo, 1 00 

13 



2 50 


2 50 


3 00 


2 00 


6 00 


3 00 


4 00 


1 50 


I 50 


3 00 


2 00 


1 25 


I 00 


1 50 


3 00 


5 00 


5 00 


4 00 


1 50 


3 50 


3 00 


2 00 


3 00 


1 50 


3 00 


3 00 


3 00 


1 00 


7 50 


5 00 


5 00 


5 00 


3 00 


2 50 



Metcalf s Steel. A Manual for Steel-users 12mo, 2 OO 

Smith's Wire: Its Use and Manufacture Small 4to, 3 00; 

Thurston's Materials of Engineering 3 vols., 8vo, 8 OO 

Part n.— Iron and Steel Svo, 3 5a 

Part III. — A Treatise on Brasses, Bronzes and Other Alloys 

and their Constituents Svo, 2 5a 

Thurston's Text-book of the Materials of Construction. . . .8vo, 5 oa 
Wood's Treatise on the Resistance of Materials and an Ap- 
pendix on the Preservation of Timber Svo, 2 00 

" Elements of Analytical Mechanics Svo, 3 OO 

STEAM ENGINES AND BOILERS. 

Carnot's Reflections on the Motive Power of Heat. (Thurston.) 

12mo, 1 5a 
Dawson's "Engineering" and Electric Traction Pocket-book. 

16mo, morocco, 4 Oa 

Ford's Boiler Making for Boiler Makers 18mo, 1 Oa 

Hemenway's Indicator Practice and Steam-engine Economy. 

12ma, 2 Oa 

Button's Mechanical Engineering of Power Plants Svo, 5 Oa 

" Heat and Heat-engines Svo, 5 Oa 

Kent's Steam-boiler Economy Svo, 4 00 

Kneass's Practice and Theory of the Injector Svo, 1 50 

MacCord's Slide-valves Svo, 2 Oa 

Meyer's Modern Locomotive Construction 4to, 10 00 

Peabody's Manual of the Steam-engine Indicator 12mo, I 5a 

'' Tables of the Properties of Saturated Steam and 

Other Vapors Svo, 1 00 

" Thermodynamics of the Steam-engine and Other 

Heat-engines Svo, 5 00 

" Valve-gears for Steam-engines Svo, 2 50 

Peabody and Miller. Steam-boilers Svo, 4 00 

Pray's Twenty Years with the Indicator Large Svo, 2 50 

Pupin's Thermodynamics of Reversible Cycles in Gases and 

Saturated Vapors. (Osterberg.) 12mo, 1 25 

Reagan's Locomotive Mechanism and Engineering 12mo, 2 00 

Rontgen's Principles of Thermodynamics. (Du Bois.) . . . .Svo, 5 00 

Sinclair's Locomotive Engine Running and Management. .12mo, 2 00 

Smart's Handbook of Engineering Laboratory Practice . . 12mo, 2 50 

Snow's Steam-boiler Practice Svo, 3 00 

Spangler's Valve-gears Svo, 2 50 

" Notes on Thermodynamics 12mo, 1 00 

Thurston's Handy Tables Svo, 1 5a 

" Manual of the Steam-engine 2 vols., Svo, 10 00 

Part I.— History, Structure, and Theory Svo, 6 00 

Part II. — Design, Construction, and Operation Svo, 6 Oa 

Thurston's Handbook of Engine and Boiler Trials, and the Use 

of the Indicator and the Prony Brake Svo, 5 00 

" Stationary Steam-engines Svo, 2 50 

" Steam-boiler Explosions in Theoiy and in Prac- 
tice 12mo, 1 50 

" Manual of Steam-boilers, Their Designs, Construc- 
tion, and Operation Svo, 5 00 

Weisbach's Heat, Steam, and Steam-engines. (Du Bois.). .Svo, 5 00 

Whitham's Steam-engine Design Svo, 5 Oa 

Wilson's Treatise on Steam-boilers. (Flather.) 16mo, 2 5Q 

Wood's Thermodynamics, Heat Motors, and Refrigerating 

Machines Svo, 4 Oa 

13 



MECHANICS AND MACHINERY. 

Barr's Kinematics of Machinery 8vo, 2 50 

Bovey's Strength of Materials and Theory of Structures. .8vo, 7 50 

Chordal. — Extracts from Letters 12mo, 2 00 

Church's Mechanics of Engineering 8vo, 6 00 

" Note3 and Examples in Mechanics Svo, 2 00 

Compton's First Lessons in Metal-working 12mo, 1 50 

Compton and De Groodt. The Speed Lathe 12mo, 1 50 

"Cromwell's Treatise on Toothed Gearing 12mo, 1 50 

" Treatise on Belts and Pulleys 12mo, 1 50 

Dana's Text-book of Elementary Mechanics for the Use of 

Colleges and Schools 12ma, 1 50 

Dingey's Machinery Pattern Making 12mo, 2 00 

Dredge's Record of the Transportation Exhibits Building of the 

World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 4to, half mor., 5 00 

Du Bois's Elementary Principles of Mechanics: 

Vol. L— Kinematics Svo, 3 50 

Vol. IL— Statics 8vo, 4 00 

Vol. III.— Kinetics Svo, 3 50 

Du Bois's Mechanics of Engineering. Vol. I Small 4ta, 10 00 

Durley's Elementary Text-book of the Kinematics of Machines. 

(In preparation.) 

Fitzgerald's Boston Machinist 16ma, 1 00 

Flather's Dynamometers, and the Measurement of Power. 12mo, 3 00 

Kope Driving 12mo, 2 00 

Hall's Car Lubrication 12mo, 1 00 

Holly's Art of Saw Filing 18mo, 76 

* Johnson's Theoretical Mechanics 12mo, 3 00 

Jones's Machine Design: 

Part I. — Kinematics of Machinery Svo, 1 50 

Part II. — Form, Strength and Proportions of Parts. .. .8vo, 3 00 
Kerr's Power and Power Transmission. {In preparation.) 

Lanza's Applied Mechanics Svo, 7 50 

MacCord's Kinematics; or. Practical Mechanism Svo, 5 00 

" Velocity Diagrams Svo, 1 50 

Merriman's Text-book on the Mechanics of Materials Svo, 4 00 

* Michie's Elements of Analytical Mechanics Svo, 4 00 

Reagan's Locomotive Mechanism and Engineering 12mo, 2 00 

Reid's Course in Mechanical Drawing Svo, 2 00 

" Text-book of Mechanical Drawing and Elementary 

Machine Design Svo, 3 00 

Richards's Compressed Air 12mo, 1 50 

Robinson's Principles of Mechanism Svo, 3 00 

Sinclair's Locomotive-engine Running and Management. .12mo, 2 00 

Smith's Press-working of Metals Svo, 3 00 

Thurston's Treatise on Friction and Lost Work in Machin- 
ery and Mill Work Svo, 3 00 

" Animal as a Machine and Prime Motor, and the 

Laws of Energetics 12mo, 1 00 

Warren's Elements of Machine Construction and Drawing. .Svo, 7 50 
Weisbach's Kinematics and the Power of Transmission. 

(Herrman — Klein.) Svo, 5 00 

" Machinery of Transmission and Governors. (Herr- 

(man— Klein.) Svo, 5 00 

Wood's Elements of Analytical Mechanics Svo, 3 00 

" Principles of Elementary Mechanics 12mo, 1 25 

" Turbines Svo, 2 50 

The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 4to, 1 00 

14 



METALLURGY. 

Egleston's Metallurgy of Silver, Gold, and Mercury: 

Vol. I —Silver 8vo, 7 50 

Vol. II.— Gold and Mercury 8vo, 7 50 

Keep's Cast Iron. (In preparation.) 

Kunhardt's Practice of Ore Dressing in Lurope 8vo, 1 50 

Le Cha teller's High- temperature Measurements. (Boudouard — 

Burgess.) 12mo, 3 00 

Metcalf's Steel. A Manual for Steel-users 12mo, 2 00 

Thurston's Materials of Engineering. In Three Parts Svo, 8 00 

Part II.— Iron and Steel 8vo, 3 50 

Part III. — ^A Treatise on Brasses, Bronzes and Other Alloys 

and Their Constituents 8vo, 2 50 

MINERALOGY. 

Barringer's Description of Minerals of Commercial Value. 

Oblong, morocco, 

Boyd's Resources of Southwest Virginia Svo, 

" Map of Southwest Virginia Pocket-book form. 

Brush's Manual of Determinative Mineralogy. (Penfield.) .8vo, 

Chester's Catalogue of Minerals 8vo, paper. 

Cloth, 

" Dictionary of the Names of Minerals Svo, 

Dana's System of Mineralogy Large Svo, half leather, 

" First Appendix to Dana's New " System of Mineralogy." 

Large Svo, 

" Text-book of Mineralogy Svo, 

'* Minerals and How to Study Them 12mo, 

" Catalogue of American Localities of Minerals . Large Svo, 

" Manual of Mineralogy and Petrography 12mo, 

Egleston's Catalogue of Minerals and Synonyms Svo, 

Hussak's The Determination of Rock-forming Minerals. 

(Smith.) Small Svo, 2 00 

* Penfield's Notes on Determinative Mineralogy and Record of 

Mineral Tests Svo, paper, 50 

Rosenbuseh's Microscopical Physiography of the Rock-making 

Minerals. (Idding's.) Svo, 5 00 

* Tillman's Text-book of Important Minerals and Rocks.. Svo, 2 00 
Williams's Manual of Lithology Svo, 3 00 

MINING. 

Beard's Ventilation of Mines 12mo, 2 50 

Boyd's Resources of Southwest Virginia Svo, 3 00 

" Map of Southwest Virginia Pocket-book form, 2 00 

•Drinker's Tunneling, Explosive Compounds, and Rock 

Drills 4to, half morocco, 25 00 

Eissler's Modern High Explosives Svo, 4 00 

•Goodyear's Coal-mines of the Western Coast of the United 

States 12mo, 2 50 

Ihlseng's Manual of Mining Svo, 4 00 

Kunhardt's Practice of Ore Dressing in Europe Svo, 1 50 

O'DriscoU's Notes on the Treatment of Gold Ores Svo, 2 00 

Sawyer's Accidents in Mines Svo, 7 00 

Walke's Lectures on Explosives Svo, 4 00 

Wilson's Cyanide Processes 12mo, 1 50 

Wilson's Chlorination Process 12mo, 1 50 

15 



2 50 


3 00 


2 00 


4 00 


1 00 


1 25 


3 50 


12 50 


1 ou 


4 00 


1 50 


1 00 


2 00 


2 50 



Wilson's Hydraulic and Placer Mining 12mo, 2 00 

Wilson's Treatise on Practical and Theoretical Mine Ventila- 
tion 12mo, 1 25. 

SANITARY SCIENCE. 

Folwell's Sewerage. (Designing, Construction and Maintenance.) 

8vo, 3 00 

" Water-supply Engineering 8vo, 4 00 

Fuertes's Water and Public Health 12mo, 1 50 

Water-filtration Works 12mo, 2 50 

Gerhard's Guide to Sanitary House-inspection 16mo, 1 00 

Goodrich's Economical Disposal of Towns' Refuse . . . Demy 8vo, 3 50 

Hazen's Filtration of Public Water-supplies Svo, 3 00 

Kiersted's Sewage Disposal 12mo, 1 25 

Mason's Water-supply. (Considered Principally from a San- 
itary Standpoint Svo, 5 00 

" Examination of Water. (Chemical and Bacterio- 
logical.) 12mo, 1 25 

Merriman's Elements of Sanitary Engineering Svo, 2 00 

Nichols's Water-supply. (Considered Mainly from a Chemical 

and Sanitary Standpoint.) (1S83.) Svo, 2 50 

Ogden's Sewer Design 12mo, 2 00 

Richards's Cost of Food. A Study in Dietaries 12mo, 1 00 

Richards and Woodman's Air, Water, and Food from a Sani- 
tary Standpoint Svo, 2 00 

Richards's Cost of Living as Modified by Sanitary Science . 12mo, 1 00 

Rideal's Sewage and Bacterial Purification of Sewage Svo, 3 50 

Turneaure and Russell's Public Water-supplies Svo, 5 00 

Whipple's Microscopy t)f Drinking-water Svo, 3 50 

Woodhull's Notes on Military Hygiene 16mo, 1 50 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Barker's Deep-sea Soundings Svo, 2 00 

Emmons's Geological Guide-book of the Rocky Mountain Ex- 
cursion of the International Congress of Geologists. 

Large Svo, 1 50 

Ferrel's Popular Treatise on the Winds Svo, 4 00. 

Haines's American Railway Management 12mo, 2 50 

Mott's Composition, Digestibility, and Nutritive Value of Food. 

Mounted chart, 1 25 

" Fallacy of the Present Theory of Sound 16mo, 1 00 

Ricketts's History of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1824- 

1894 Small Svo, 3 00 

Rotherham's Emphasised New Testament Large Svo, 2 00 

" Critical Emphasised New Testament 12mo, 1 50 

Steel's Treatise on the Diseases of the Dog Svo, 3 50 

Totten's Important Question in Metrology Svo, 2 50 

The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 4to, 1 00 

Worcester and Atkinson. Small Hospitals, Establishment and 
Maintenance, and Suggestions for Hospital Architecture, 

with Plans for a Small Hospital 12mo, 1 25 

HEBREW AND CHALDEE TEXT-BOOKS. 

Green's Grammar of the Hebrew Language Svo, 3 00 

" Elementary Hebrew Grammar 12mo, 1 26 

" Hebrew Chrestomathy Svo, 2 00 

Gesenius's Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament 

Scriptures. (Tregelles.) Small 4to, half morocco, 5 00 

Lctteris's Hebrew^ Bible Svo, 2 25 

16 



16 IPOQ 



JAN 14 1902 










,h. 









' ['■.:'■ Hl't', (,■./!/ i"c'- -/'.*. i ■ 'v •:>,&'. 




:'^a'^-'^'' ^"- ■•■■ 



-$ '■*' 



"'i 








Sr LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

^ III! Ill 

DDDDflfiflDfi03 y_ 



